Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino rejected “damaging” and “unfounded” allegations by Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli.

Dr Dalli told a parliamentary committee meeting earlier this week that the Ombudsman was not up to the task of carrying out the necessary reforms in his office.

Dr Said Pullicino insisted that “no criticism levelled against him will deter him from fulfilling his obligations towards safeguarding the rights of citizens against maladministration, abuse of power or of fundamental human rights”.

He said he would give a detailed account of his work at the appropriate moment. His office was not there to only serve citizens but he would also continue to promote good public administration.

The Ombudsman said he was comforted by the public trust his office enjoyed as could be seen by the numerous letters of thanks from citizens.

He was confident that the Maltese would continue to seek his services because of their belief in the objective and serious manner in which his investigations were carried out as well as the independence and autonomy his office enjoyed.

No criticism levelled against him will deter him

The Ombudsman said he appreciated the cooperation by and the respect of ministries, government departments and authorities. He also thanked the Prime Minister for the trust shown in him throughout the past months when he was assigned tasks that required dedication, integrity, honesty and correctness.

It would be a “serious mistake to try to damage the reputation of a constitutional authority through unfounded allegations” that could only cause harm, Dr Said Pullicino said.

The Nationalist Party too condemned Dr Dalli’s attack on the Ombudsman, saying it was a sad example of the way the government, which had promised to work with everyone, was ridiculing constit-utional bodies.

Such attitude was unacceptable and undermined the credibilityof the Ombudsman, who had a constitutional role and had the trust of two-thirds of Parliament, the party said.