In January 2022, the Chief Ombudsman and a team of officers visited West New Britain Province after receiving complaints in relation to the deteriorating conditions of the police holding cells, the Police Stations, and the deteriorating and overpopulated police staff houses in Kimbe.
The Commission Team met with the West New Britain Province Governor Hon. Sasindran Muthuvel and members of the provincial government who made an undertaking to assist in funding certain projects for the Kimbe Correction Services and Police institutions.
As a result of the Commission’s intervention, Kimbe Police Station has seen fully renovated and refurbished with a state-of-the-art policing facility resulting in a conducive working environment for staff and detainees. The Commission is pleased with the undertaking of the Governor for West New Britain, Hon. Sansindran Muthuvel, and the West New Britain Provincial Government and commended them for their efforts to address law and order and infrastructure issues in the province.
The Commission has taken a new approach aimed at amicably resolving issues of such nature with the leaders of each province, particularly the Members of the Parliament to allocate funding from the respective Provincial Services Improvement Programs and District Services Improvement Programs to fund and counter-fund some of these projects.
The Ombudsman Commission’s approach is in line with Section 218(b) of the Constitution which mandates the Commission to ensure that government services are delivered to the people and unfair practices are eliminated. The Commission anticipates seeing more infrastructural development taking place in the near future and acknowledges the West New Britain Provincial Government and their Governor on the successful outcome of the new Kimbe Police Station.