SUMMARIES OF SELECTED STATEMENTS job. The man had got stuck several times with his car with front-wheel drive when visiting seed plantations and plant nurseries as part of his job. The municipality refused the man’s application, explaining, with reference to a statement from a guidance unit under the Ministry of Employment, that he could use an already granted four-wheeled ATV (all-terrain vehicle), which could be transported on a trailer. The man was of the opinion that the municipality and the guidance unit had misunderstood the type of ground on which he had to drive. For this reason, he contacted the guidance unit, which now expressed support of his wanting a car with four-wheel drive. The man subsequently wrote to the National Social Appeals Board that the municipality had made its decision on the basis of a ‘hard-and-fast, incorrect assessment’ and recommended that the Board contact the guidance unit. In addition, the man found that the option involving the ATV had a number of disadvantages. The National Social Appeals Board did not respond to the man’s recommendation and gave weight to the information which it had already received from the municipality. The man complained to the Ombudsman, who found that the National Social Appeals Board should have followed the man’s recommendation to ask the guidance unit for further information. The Ombudsman stated that the man had raised relevant doubts about the correctness of the information which had entered into the Board’s decision to uphold the municipality’s refusal of his application. The Ombudsman recommended that the National Social Appeals Board reopen the case and make a new decision. T. MUNICIPAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES ETC. The following statements on cases concluded in 2017 have been published: 2017-1. Offensive remark overstepped limits to public employees’ freedom of expression – duty of loyalty not relevant A municipal employee posted some comments on Facebook on an article about severance pay for municipal chief executives. In one of his posts, the 111