Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this evening defended government plans to appoint MPs to government boards and authorities, saying the government wanted MPs to have a greater role in the decision-making process.
Replying to Opposition criticism of the plans (See separate story) Dr Muscat said that what the government was proposing was far better than what the former government had done when it appointed parliamentary assistants which were nothing more than handbags with an unclear role. Under what the government was proposing, roles would be clearly defined.
The government also wanted to broaden the role of the Opposition. Standing Orders would be amended so that a number of sitting s would be reserved for Opposition business, where the Opposition would set the agenda.
This would not remove the right for private member’ bills.
What was being done was not new and under the former government, there had been at least two MPs who headed government organisations. That concept was being extended, and the government even wanted to include the Opposition, but it had refused.
Earlier, Dr Muscat said the Opposition had no grounds to attack the government about the Excessive Deficit Procedure because Malta was twice placed under such a procedure under the PN government.
Furthermore, the EU Commission’s decision regarding the latest deficit procedure stemmed from the deficit which rose last year under the PN government and the Budget it had presented.
“We take no lessons from the Opposition on this matter,” Dr Muscat said.
Replying to comments made by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil earlier during the debate on a motion to thank the President for his address at the opening of Parliament, Dr Muscat said the Cabinet would be judged not by its size, but by its output, and this Cabinet was already delivering more.
GOVERNMENT APPOINTMENTS
On the government appointments made since the election, Dr Muscat said several people had been retained from the former administration, as had several commissionerS such as the Children’s Commissioner, who is a former Nationalist MP.
The government always continued the practice that when the President came from one side of the political fence, the Acting President was from the other.
One could not say that the chairman of the Justice Reform Commission, Judge Giovanni Bonello, had been on Labour billboards.
The government was also reconfirming the appointment of the Auditor-General.
The PBS Board never had as many varied political views as today.
Dr Muscat said an indication of what the situation had been like under the former government would be seen from the fact that last week Dr Busuttil appointed a commission to oversee the party’s finances. Among its members were two who had headed the Malta Transport Authority, Malta Enterprise and Air Malta in the past.
TRANSFERS
Turning to transfers at St Vincent de Paul, Dr Muscat said he was disgusted when his wife went to the home to visit a patient. She sent him a picture of the poor quality of the food that was being served. The government would work with all those who wished to work with it, he said. He was sure workers would continue to do their duty, but those who did not would be held to account.
On a side note, Dr Muscat said his wife was not being paid anything for doing much more than her duty.
But, if one wanted to speak of political appointments, one only needed to see what had happened in the Malta Sports Council on the eve of the general election. There were many cases where, coincidentally, contracts started on March 7. The government would work with those who wished to work with it.
CODE OF ETHICS
On the Code of Ethics, Dr Muscat said the government was prepared to discuss it with the Opposition., Perhaps they could get a tal-lira clock to keep the time. The Opposition, surely, could not say much on this score, he said.
THE ECONOMY
Dr Muscat said the government was kick-starting the economy through a series on initiatives, some of which had been pending for a long time. For example, Mepa tariffs had been drastically reduced. A new policy was being rolled out to enable hotels to have two more floors.
In the coming days, the government would launch other measures to boost the economy.
Calls for expressions of interest would be issued for new casinos, the maritime centre at the Shipbuilding yard and land reclamation.
The Global Residence Scheme had also been announced, to breathe new life in the property sector after the former government unilaterally decided to ditch the Permanent Residence Scheme in a way which had undermined the goodwill of the country. The alternative which the government had provided was a total failure with just six applications of which only two were accepted, Dr Muscat said.
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
In his speech Dr Muscat also reacted to Opposition claims that the government undermined respect for the Office of the President in the Address at the opening of Parliament. He said he had defended the President after the PN's media and its associates hit out at his Office over the offer of assistance to a person.