BackIn April 2018, the Office of the Ombudsman in the Kingdom of Tonga published its first report. Although the Office had been established in 2001 (formerly as the Office of the Commissioner for Public Relations), the Commissioner for Public Relations Act did not allow for reports to be published.
An amendment to the Act effective in December 2016 changed the name of the Act and the Office to “Ombudsman” and among other amendments, a new section 30 was inserted to the Act which allowed for the Ombudsman to publish reports (Ombudsman Act 2001).
The report published in April 2018 was an own motion investigation into the Billing and Disconnection processes of the Tonga Water Board. The Tonga Water Board is a public enterprise and provides water in the main urban areas of the four main islands of the Kingdom.
The investigation was initiated because of the high number of complaints that Ombudsman had received regarding water bills and disconnections. The investigation was done in partnership with the Tonga Water Board who from the outset welcomed the investigation as an independent review of their processes.
The report highlighted several issues in the billing and disconnection practices with recommendations. The Tonga Water Board comprehensively responded to the Provisional Report and outlined actions that they had taken including incorporating in their processes the recommendations by the Ombudsman.
The final report was published on the website of the Ombudsman of Tonga and also disseminated in a local newspaper article in May 2018.
Source: Office of the Ombudsman, Kingdom of Tonga
