Opposition leader Simon Busuttil made a courtesy call on Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud this morning and said institutions such as the Ombudsman and the Auditor-General should serve as a model for other institutions.
Dr Busuttil said the independence and autonomy of several institutions had been eroded in this legislature and the independence and autonomy of the Ombudsman needed to be emulated.
Dr Busuttil underlined the importance of the Office of the Ombudsman to safeguard the people's rights.
Mr Mifsud said it was a challenge to reach the standards of his predecessors. He said one of his first decisions was to add a further two investigators to his team. Last year the office investigated 515 cases, an increase of 65 per cent on the year before.
New challenges included pleas from foreigners now living in Malta, issues in the gaming sector and citizenship.
