Law on council secretaries 'breaches European charter'

A change to the law making councils' executive secretaries answerable to the government goes against the European Charter of Local Self-Government, according to Local Council Association president Michael Cohen.

He said the change, part of the local councils' reform, was in breach of an article of this charter which dealt with "appropriate administrative structures and resources for the tasks of local authorities".

Mr Cohen said a delegation from the Council of Europe would be coming to Malta in June to investigate this matter.

He explained that local councils used to be able to appoint executive secretaries themselves and would only require the minister's approval that the proper procedures had been followed.

Now, as a result of the reform, the executive secretaries had become public officers and were answerable to the government.

This, Mr Cohen said, had been introduced despite the association's objections. Mayors had also unanimously approved a resolution against this aspect of the reform.

Contacted for his reaction, the Parliamentary Secretary for Local Councils, Chris Said, said the government believed this change in the law was not in breach of the charter because it did not impinge on the autonomy of the councils or the executive secretaries.

He said the amendment meant that the executive secretaries did not interfere in the councils' operations but were there to ensure they did not breach financial regulations.

The change, he explained, was introduced to increase transparency and accountability in the operations of the executive secretary of the council, who must be the person ensuring that financial regulations and procedures were adhered to.

To avoid the executive secretary shying away from reporting shortcomings in the council's work, they were now accountable to the Local Councils Department rather than to the council itself.

Mr Cohen said at a congress held last Saturday that councils had also unanimously approved a resolution to start legal action against the Water Service Corporation over money it owed local councils.

He said the councils had an agreement with the corporation over the reinstatement of roads that it dug up to carry out any repair works. The corporation owed councils more than €2 million.

Moreover, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority owed them thousands of euros for the use of local tribunals to determine the fines it issued, he said. Legal action against the authority would also be taken.