Prime Minister takes charge of bus reform

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will be heading a task force to oversee the public transport reform four months after the new bus service was rolled out to major public dissatisfaction.

The surprise announcement was made yesterday by Dr Gonzi with the media only being notified of the press call 45 minutes before the statement was made.

The move has been interpreted by political observers as a sign of no confidence in Transport Minister Austin Gatt, just four days after Dr Gonzi solidly defended his minister during a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

The Prime Minister was scant on detail but said he took the decision the previous evening after taking note of all that was said during Friday’s 11-hour parliamentary debate.

Dr Gonzi did not take questions and Dr Gatt was not present for the brief announcement.

The Office of the Prime Minister later clarified that apart from the Prime Minister, the task force would include Dr Gatt, Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said, the Police Commissioner, the Armed Forces commander and Transport Malta’s chairman.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said the task force’s brief was to ensure coordination between “all government resources and players to ensure the public transport reform meets the needs and aspirations of the commuters”.

The Transport Ministry said it was “satisfied” with the Prime Minister’s decision. “It was necessary to set up an over-arching departmental body to encompass within it organisations outside this ministry, such as the very effective involvement of the police in managing traffic during rush hour,” it said, insisting that political responsibility for public transport remained with the ministry.

It said the idea to set up the task force was discussed on Monday night between the Prime Minister and Dr Gatt.

But the move has political implications, according to columnist and former Labour minister Lino Spiteri. “If there was room for it, such a task force should have been appointed at least two months ago and the fact that it is being appointed now when, one should certainly hope, the system should improve dramatically is more of a political gesture than an operational measure,” Mr Spiteri said.

He added that the Prime Minister’s “strange” decision effectively removed oversight of the public transport situation from the hands of Dr Gatt.

“The Prime Minister is telling all and sundry that he is dissatisfied with the way Dr Gatt has been handling his political responsibility and the way Transport Malta has been managing or, rather, mismanaging the operational aspects of the changeover,” Mr Spiteri said.

In a similar tone, columnist and former Nationalist minister Michael Falzon said it was “ridiculous” for the Prime Minister to take matters into his hands each time a problem cropped up. “This is not the way to run a country, the Prime Minister must delegate matters but this decision acknowledges that the present turn of events is not satisfactory,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s direct involvement in the matter could be interpreted as a sign of no confidence in Dr Gatt, he added.

The move was pounced upon by the Labour Party and, in a statement, transport spokesman Joseph Sammut said families and businesses could “hardly take solace in the fact that Lawrence Gonzi appointed himself to manage public transport”. The last time this happened, he added, was on the eve of the election when Dr Gonzi said he would take charge of the planning authority. “Today, the planning and environment sectors are in a worse state.”

In a surprise move on Monday night, the PN publicly decided to “reprimand” the Transport Minister’s right-hand man, Emanuel Delia. The party said Mr Delia had posted a Facebook comment declaring himself as a candidate for the next election when he was not yet approved by the executive council.

The comment referred to by the PN is possibly the post made on November 4, the day the no-confidence motion in Dr Gatt was debated, in which Mr Delia said he intended contesting the election with the PN on the fifth electoral district.

In an apparent jibe at Nationalist backbencher Franco Debono, who was elected from the same district and who abstained in the no-confidence motion, Mr Delia wrote that Nationalists in the district “wanted to be represented by a Nationalist”.

The PN failed to clarify why it issued the reprimand on Monday when Mr Delia’s Facebook page promoting his candidature had been created last year.

Mr Delia did not want to comment on the timing of the PN’s reprimand when contacted yesterday, adding that he belonged to the party and would abide by its instructions.

Asked whether he will be removing or changing his Facebook page, Mr Delia said he would be seeking detailed instructions from the party. “I undertook political activities in the fifth district without being aware of breaking some form of rule, not least because I essentially conducted activities similar to those of other potential candidates in various districts,” he said in his defence.

As it turned out, Dr Debono yesterday gave notice of a parliamentary motion to discuss various shortcomings and proposals linked to the justice and home affairs sectors (see story on back page). This gave rise to questions on whether Dr Gonzi’s decision on the task force was merely a bid to stave off another embarrassing moment even if it meant sacrificing his Transport Minister.

How the clock ticked

Monday

2.30 p.m. – No comments are given after the PN parliamentary group meets at party headquarters in Pietà for the first time since the parliamentary vote of no confidence in Transport Minister Austin Gatt. Backbencher Franco Debono does not attend.

3 p.m. – Backbencher Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando writes on his Facebook wall that Dr Debono “should have attended” the parliamentary group meeting intended “to clear the air” before Tuesday’s vote of confidence.

8 p.m. – PN issues statement “reprimanding” the Transport Minister’s right-hand man, Emanuel Delia, for a Facebook post in which he presents himself as a prospective PN candidate.

Tuesday

7.44 a.m. – Franco Debono tells timesofmalta.com he is irked by the fact that he was not allotted time to speak in yesterday’s vote of confidence in Parliament.

8.17 a.m. – The Department of Information issues an urgent press call 45 minutes before the Prime Minister addresses the media about public transport.

9 a.m. – In a very brief statement the Prime Minister says he will head a task force to oversee public transport. He says the decision was taken by him the night before. He does not take questions from journalists.

Noon – Dr Debono gives notice of a parliamentary motion to debate the shortcomings and various proposals linked to the justice and home affairs sectors.