Failure to appoint new Auditor General forces term extension

The term of office of the Auditor General, Joseph Galea, expired on July 28 but Parliament has yet to appoint a successor.

When the House Public Accounts Committee - which the Auditor General attends - met last Tuesday, Mr Galea pointed out that he could not take part in the discussions as his term had expired and, technically, he did not hold office any longer.

Contacted yesterday, Mr Galea said his constitutional mandate expired on July 28 and since he had already served the maximum two five-year terms allowed by the Constitution, he could not be re-nominated for the post. This meant there had to be agreement on a new nominee by the two sides of the House because the appointment of an Auditor General required the consent of two-thirds of the MPs.

He explained that when he was called to sit round the table on Tuesday, he felt uncomfortable as he did not want to go beyond what was allowed by the Constitution. Then, the PAC chairman, Labour MP Charles Mangion, told Mr Galea that, as both sides had agreed on extending his term, he could still perform his duties as Auditor General.

Mr Galea argued that his official constitutional role ended when his second term expired. He was only participating in the committee until his successor was appointed. Dr Mangion asked Mr Galea whether he thought that an Auditor General was not in office at that point in time and Mr Galea said he felt that was the case.

However, Dr Mangion said that once there had been agreement on extending Mr Galea's appointment, the post could not be considered vacant.

As the Auditor General is answerable to Parliament, the opinion of Speaker Anton Tabone was also sought yesterday.

However, when contacted, Mr Tabone declined to comment saying this was an internal matter.

Constitutional lawyer Austin Bencini tended to agree with Dr Mangion and said that, even if Mr Galea was only acting in a caretaker capacity until someone else was appointed, he still enjoyed his full powers.

The position of an Auditor General was a technical one and, as long as he was only kept in office for a limited period of time until the right person to replace him was found, Dr Bencini did not see why Mr Galea should not enjoy his full powers. The Auditor General, he said, had not been given a third term but was only asked to stay in office for some more time.

An analogy could be drawn to the caretaker position occupied by the Prime Minister at election time until a new Prime Minister is elected. As caretaker head of government, the Prime Minister still retains his full powers.