PM pilots 'milestone development' public sector legislation

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told Parliament yesterday that the proposed Public Administration Bill was a milestone development in the workings of the public sector which would enable it to make a leap in the quality of service and efficiency.

Introducing the second reading, Dr Gonzi noted that the Bill had first been moved during the last legislature, but the legislation had not been enacted because the government wanted the debate to mature by giving time to all those who wanted to comment and propose amendments. After the 2007 summer recess and the budget debate, Parliament had been dissolved for the general election.

Dr Gonzi said that the Nationalist administration of 1987 had appointed the Public Service Reform Commission and implemented some of its suggestions. It had modernised the service and made huge investments in IT that enabled it to increase its efficiency.

Local councils had been introduced and an interface between them and central government established. It had created agencies to ensure transparency and accountability, introduced the Office of the Ombudsman, and incorporated the Auditor General as a Parliamentary official.

House permanent committees had been introduced, with the Public Accounts Committee being chaired by an opposition MP to scrutinise the government's financial operations.

In 2003, after a long consultation process, there had followed the publication of the White Paper, A Public Service for the 21st Century, which introduced methods for modern-day needs. The government had examined in detail all criticism levelled at the White Paper and tried to arrive at national consensus. In October 2005 a more aggressive exercise to revise the White Paper had been undertaken, and this had led to a proposal which was approved by the Cabinet eight months later. A final document, radically different from the original White Paper, had been produced because the government took on board many of the suggestions made. The original Bill was published in June last year.

Dr Gonzi said that through the new legislation the government was seeking to enhance efficiency and increase the accountability of all employees at the different levels of the public service, to the benefit of the people. The proposed legislation would permit those in the higher echelons of the public sector - permanent secretaries and heads of department - to lead, exercise power and shoulder responsibility for their actions.

He said the legislation was the fruit of years of debate which must now come to an end to give a Malta public administration worthy of the times.

The objects of the Bill are to affirm the values of public administration, to provide for their application throughout the public sector, and to provide for its organisation and management. The legislation applies not only to government departments but also to corporations, agencies and foundations which would now be subject to ministerial direction.

The prime minister said that the public sector shall be governed by five values inherent in its duties. It should exercise any powers vested in it by law and deliver services to the public courteously, expeditiously and impartially. It must provide objective and knowledgeable advice on matters within its competence and efficiently and effectively implement the policies of the government of the day.

Public employees should also contribute towards the coordination of government policy in conjunction with other departments, agencies, government entities and local councils, and contribute, through their own conduct, to making their workplace one that acknowledged talent, developed skills and abilities, rewarded performance, avoided discrimination and offered safety.

Dr Gonzi said he was proud to have led the country ever since day one of EU membership. Malta had made great strides forward in four years and started reaping the benefits. Family-friendly measures for parents were introduced in the last collective agreement for the civil service, valid until 2010. The government had invested heavily in human resources.

In the next few years all aspects of Maltese life must be refined, but especially so the public sector with its fundamental roles of regulator and facilitator. The legislation provided the infrastructure to have an efficient public sector. He said it was impossible for the administration to be tied down by the laborious employment procedure currently adopted by the Public Service Commission.

The code of ethics governing public sector employees, known as the Estacode, would now be incorporated as part and parcel of the new legislation, and disciplinary measures would be taken if rules were broken.

For the first time, the Bill acknowledged, regulated and consolidated procedures governing private ministerial secretariats.

The Bill also defined the role of the Principal Permanent Secretary, who the Prime Minister said was the most important official in the public sector, acting as the CEO of each department. He or she would now have full responsibility to see that corporations, agencies and foundations falling within the ministry worked in harmony.

The surplus pool concept was being introduced because of restructuring and consolidation of part of the sector.

Dr Gonzi said the Bill proposed the setting up of the Merit Protection Committee, which would audit the appointment of employees of government agencies and government entities to verify that these were made in accordance with the law.

Where it found that an employment was not in conformity with the provisions of the Act, it would annul the decision in question, issue the necessary directives to redress the situation and recommend disciplinary or even criminal action.

The commission would also ensure that no employee was victimised for making any report to his superior, to the commission or to any other relevant authority about any breach by another employee of the code of ethics or of any other provision. This was not, however, a substitute of the Whistleblower Act.

The Bill would also acknowledge government agencies like Sedqa and Appoġġ, which Dr Gonzi said had worked well, effectively, efficiently and transparently. Overall, they had a positive track record, and the next step would be to regularise the model and use it for other sectors which could work better under this formula. The agencies fell under ministerial responsibility and the discipline of the permanent secretary.

Dr Gonzi then referred to the opposition's concerns on the Merit Protection Committee and invited it to take a look at what other foreign administrations had done. The Bill set the criteria for employment through competition and according to merit. He said that not even the PSC was governed by such legislation.

The PSC system regarding employment presented bottlenecks because of which the government could not operate efficiently.

Without sacrificing transparency the Bill was proposing a new method that should be more efficient. Even when complaints were made against a PSC decision, it had to investigate itself and this did not make sense.

Other nations let the managers manage but kept them accountable. The Prime Minister appealed to the opposition to work together with the government to introduce more efficient methods.

He said that the Permanent Secretaries' Committee would coordinate their operation. Such a forum was badly needed, the more so now that Malta was in the EU. The Prime Minister said he expected much of the permanent secretaries. He was studying how to incentivise them to go beyond their call of duty.

Referring to fixed-term contracts, the prime minister said that Malta had an obligation to recognise an EU directive which said that after two three-year terms, the employee had to be considered as permanent. He said there were big complications on how Malta could adhere with certain directives without breaking the Constitution and other laws.

The PSC had addressed the majority of cases with certain reservations and the government had published a legal notice which applied EU directives to public service. Certain aspects of it were still not clear.

The opposition had said last year that the Bill did not acknowledge trade unions. The Prime Minister said this was unrelated but regulated by the Employment and Industrial Relations Act.

Dr Gonzi said that the government's approach was constructive. The Bill was like a glove fitting perfectly in its vision for 2012, which aimed to make Malta the best in Mediterranean region and in Europe in seven particular sectors.

He said this was a do-able vision within Malta's reach, and the government had already laid its foundation. During the past legislature Malta had made big strides forward, joining the EU and the eurozone, investing in education and in the infrastructure, and using EU funds to provide an environment which befitted Maltese families, the economy, tourism and specialised manufacturing.

The major building blocks were in place and the wheels were in motion. The public sector was the gear lever which determined efficiency, eliminating bureaucracy and giving value to the service which had to be sensitive to the people's ambitions.

Concluding, Dr Gonzi said public sector employees were there to serve, not to dictate. They must foster a different attitude and be courageous enough to change where change was necessary.

Opposition deputy leader Anġlu Farrugia's speech will be reported tomorrow.