ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th, 2009_ Prime Minister Tillman Thomas has congratulated Mr. Argar Alexander on his appointment as Grenada’s first Ombudsman. According to the Ombudsman act, which sets up the Office of Ombudsman, the nominee for the post must be agreed to by both the Prime Minister and the Leader of her Majesty’s Opposition. The office of the Ombudsman is designed to strengthen the governance process by providing the Ombudsman with “the power to investigate the administrative actions taken by or on behalf of the government or other authorities.” “Mr. Alexander has served several administrations as a career public servant and is seen as a man of integrity and fairness. The fact that both my administration and the Leader of the opposition have agreed to his appointment is testimony to his stature,” the Prime Minister said. The Ombudsman will have the power to investigate complaints from persons who object to actions, by government, government departments or government companies, they deem to be an abuse of power, contrary to law, unfair, oppressive, discriminatory or negligent. “We subscribe to a strong democratic tradition. The establishment of an Ombudsman, is designed to strengthen our democracy and provide protection to all Grenadians from some of the abuses we have seen in the past,” the Prime Minister sad.