Government to launch schemes to help councils stream meetings online

The government will be launching schemes to help councils stream their meetings online, and train their staff, Parliamentary Secretary Jose Herrera said this afternoon.

The Secretariat, together with its consultant Michael Cohen, is also holding discussions with local councils about ways to lighten the regional council's enforcement burden.

Dr Herrera was speaking during a press conference held by the Żabbar council which has replaced its sub-committees with action teams made up of residents, to implement an open-governance system.

Mayor Quinton Scerri said one of the three teams is organising a HealthFest this Saturday which kicks off at 9am at the council's premises.

Dr Herrera said the government wanted local councils to be closer to residents and encouraged an open governance system through transparency.

Some councils are already streaming their meetings online and the government will launch a scheme in the coming weeks to help all local councils to screen their meetings. Tendering processes should also be streamed online, he said.

Another scheme will provide training to local council staff about the council's law and its limits.

Marking the 20th anniversary of local councils, the government will also be reforming the regional councils system to lighten their enforcement burden and engage them in administrative responsibilities like tapping in EU funds and participating in the tendering processes of the provision of street lighting.