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Arlene Brock, Ombudsman for Bermuda, responds to the February 28 article in the Bermuda Sun headlined, 'Good morning could become obligatory for civil servants'.

Dear Sir,

The unfortunate title of this article is almost as erroneous as its content. I have never heard of or stated that 'linking usage of morning greetings to civil service performance' is an option anywhere in the world.

I did note that in the process of developing a Bermudian definition for what constitutes "maladministration", one might look at things like nepotism and even the very Bermudian concern about manners. For instance, do civil servants respond with the same degree of service to members of the public who did not approach the civil servant with a greeting?

The interview included my discussions with attorneys about the idea of Apology Legislation. This legislation has been introduced into Australia and British Columbia and is regarded by Ombudsmen around the world as quite important because a simple apology is often the best redress for maladministration.

It is possible that the reporter misheard or incorrectly inferred that this legislation - a legal reinforcement of simple manners -also applied to the morning greeting.

I had hoped that the article would have highlighted some of the weighty matters in the office's First Annual Report - such as the fact that the international Ombudsman network had succeeded in obtaining the death certificate of a Bermudian missionary murdered in the Sudan when all other efforts, including diplomatic, had failed.

Arlene Brock

Ombudsman for Bermuda

Copies of the First Annual Report are available from the Office of the Bermuda Ombudsman, 14 Dundonald St., Hamilton, or on the website www.ombudsman.bm[[In-content Ad]]

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