GOVERNOR Sir John Vereker and Premier Alex Scott officially opened Bermuda?s first Ombudsman?s office yesterday.

Present at the Dundonald Street office for the ribbon-cutting ceremony were members of the legal fraternity and a host of other dignitaries.

The Governor congratulated Government for the ground-laying initiative which led to Arlene Brock?s appointment as the island?s first Ombudsman last year.

?Governments have nothing to lose and everything to gain by ensuring high standards of public administration. Democratic societies always have to balance the powers of the state against accountability to the people,? said Sir John.

?Accountability means that public servants and public institutions can be held responsible for their actions, that Governments must explain what they are doing with the taxes they raise, and that individuals know what to do if they have a grievance.?

He added that the Ombudsman is the ?last link? in a chain which connects the public with Government.

?It?s a chain that includes free and open elections, parliamentary scrutiny of the executive, independent audit of public spending, a politically-neutral civil service and an independent judiciary.?

For years Bermudians had enjoyed the freedom of choice in Government, with residents accustomed to equal treatment from public servants regardless of ?race, faith or relationship,? Sir John said.

?And now, anyone on this island has a place to go if they think they are a victim of maladministration ? that something has gone wrong in the way they have been treated. That includes suffering from public administration that is inefficient or unreasonable, or improper or unfair, or discriminatory or arbitrary, or negligent or simply bad. All those adjectives now appear in the law.

?I am sure none of us believes, Premier, Cabinet Secretary, that such adjectives are generally appropriate for public administration in Bermuda. Bermuda can be proud of its long tradition of high quality and impartial public service.

?And, of course, to the extent that anything occasionally does fall below the highest standards of public service, what we all of us hope, and what I certainly believe, is that as time goes on the very existence of the Ombudsman will make maladministration even less likely.?

Sir John expressed every confidence that Ms Brock would do her job well ?without fear or favour?.

?You, Ombudsman, are the smile on the face of the Cheshire cat, if you remember your . You are what will be left when the cat itself vanishes. We look forward to the time when you sit behind your desk for hours on end, waiting for the telephone to ring, and it never does because the public has no complaints.

?Until then, you have a job to do, and I know you will do it well, without fear or favour in these admirable new offices which I now have the pleasure in declaring open.?