Complaints Commissioner Nicola
Williams is one of those people with a lot of titles attached to her name;
judge, commissioner, anti-corruption board director, etc, etc, etc.
She just added another one: vice
president.
At a recent meeting of the
Caribbean Ombudsman Association, Ms Williams – who is from the UK – was named
the group’s vice president. She’s the first woman to be named to that post.
“It is a great honour for me,” Ms
Williams said. “But it will also help to raise the profile of this office
[referring to the Cayman Islands Office of the Complaints Commissioner].”
Ms Williams is only the second
complaints commissioner in the Cayman Islands. The first, John Epp, remitted
office in 2009.
With government budget difficulties
since 2009, the complaints commissioner’s office – which operates as a public
interest watchdog over government operations – had its available funds reduced
by $150,000.
Since then, Ms Williams has managed
to restore funding for a sixth staff member within the office that handles
hundreds of public complaints each year.
“From my perspective dealing with
government, I get the impression that people now do see that if you’re running
an effective democracy, you need good governance,” Ms Williams said. “In that
regard, people generally think having this office is a
good thing.”
Her appointment to the ombudsman
association will also raise the profile of the Cayman Islands, Ms Williams
said.
“It indicates that the Cayman
Islands is seen as a major player in the ombudsman community,” she said.
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