Complaints by soldiers jumped by a whopping 140 per cent last year, according to the Ombudsman’s annual report.

The Ombudsman received 36 complaints from Armed Forces of Malta personnel, largely in relation to promotions awarded in 2013.

In 2012 the Ombudsman received 15 complaints from soldiers and received six in 2011.

The AFM topped the list of public authorities in terms of the number of complaints received, the Ombudsman said.

The National Security Ministry, which is responsible for the army, and the Ombudsman have been at loggerheads for the past year because of a disagreement over the extent of the latter’s jurisdiction to investigate soldier’s complaints.

The ministry has refused to cooperate with the Ombudsman’s complaints investigation, insisting the law made it mandatory for soldiers to first exhaust all avenues of redress before going to the Ombudsman.

Soldiers can seek redress from the President if they feel aggrieved by decisions taken by the army commander.

However, the Ombudsman is insisting that army personnel have no obligation to file a complaint with the President and can seek redress from his office. The issue remains unresolved.

In second place for the number of grievances among public institutions were local councils, according to the annual report.

Although they jumped from fifth in 2012 to second last year, the number of complaints actually dropped to 20 from 28.

Third in line was the Education Department with 19 complaints in 2013, a substantial drop from the 31 cases filed with the Ombudsman’s office in 2012.

For the second consecutive year, complaints about Transport Malta continued to fall.

In 2013, the Ombudsman received 15 complaints about the transport watchdog’s actions, a decrease from 29 in 2012 and 38 in 2011.

In all, the Ombudsman received 329 complaints about public sector services last year, which represented a 25 per cent drop over 2012.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com