“The leaders of the public service should not be puppets to any political master.” I read with interest the article entitled ‘Head of the public sector laments leadership crisis’ (timesofmalta.com, March 5).
The public sector is many things to many people. We form our opinions depending on where and how we interact with this huge machine. The public service embraces teachers in public schools, the medical staff in the public health institutions, the police, social services personnel, licensing people and the list goes on and on.
For the 40,000 employees of the public service, it is a place of work.
Like any other sizeable organisation, the public sector has its strong and weak points. Given its wide scope of work and size, I would refrain from defining the public service by some sweeping statements. Any such statement – irrespective of whether it is positive or negative – would not be truly reflective of the whole public service.
There are, of course, two undeniable truths: no country can do without an efficient public sector and no public sector entity can be efficient if it stops embracing change. I put the words of the Principal Permanent Secretary within this context. This is not the first call for change and it will not be the last. Successive heads of the public sector championed change. And, to be fair, change was very much the order of the day over the past decades.
With the country implementing a programme of privatisation, decentralisation, liberalisation and, eventually, European Union membership, the public sector had no option but to change.
The public sector did not just change and adapt but, in many cases, became an agent for change
Truth be told, the public sector did not just change and adapt but in many cases became an agent for change. This was possible because the public service managed to shake off its image of being a parking lot for employees who couldn’t make it in the private sector. Over the past years, the public service managed to attract and retain young, bright people of the right calibre.
Certain challenges remain. The balance of power between the political and non-political staff is definitely one such challenge. In this respect, I feel that the present administration has taken two steps back rather than one step forward.
A number of decisions taken by this government have blurred the lines between the political and non-political realms. These decisions include the controversial appointment of the same Mario Cutajar, a Labour militant, to the topmost position of the service, the forced resignation and removal of permanent secretaries and their replacement with people close to the Labour party, the appointment of former Labour Party officials and serving Labour members of Parliament at the head of public sector organisations and the inclusion of members of ministers’ private secretariats on boards that decide on appointments and promotions.
These actions have politicised the public service and created a new scenario whereby a change in administration is going to result in a change in most if not all of the persons occupying the top positions across the public sector.
The leaders of the public service, as Cutajar calls them, should not be puppets to any political master. They should be capable to implement the government’s policy and programmes.
They must also be able to say no when the actions of the politically-appointed go against regulations. This may, at times, put them at loggerheads with the political class. A level of friction is normal in any democracy. This government has resolved this friction by appointing people who do not have the inclination to say no to their ministers.
We have already started to witness the dangerous side effects of this decision.
A police inspector testified in court that the police did not take action against persons who allegedly carried out acts of bribery because of a political decision.
The damning report issued by the National Audit Office criticising Minister Chris Cardona and Parliamentary Secretary Edward Zammit Louis’s interference in a tender process is another clear example of why this government needs a professional public service to keep it in check.
The public service is there to service the nation and not the government of the day.
The actions taken by this government fall short of promoting a culture of openness and fairness. This government seems to be keen on having a Yes Minister mentality. If this is the case, then government will sooner rather than later find out that it is doing a disservice to all, not least to its own ministers.
nvella@pn.org.mt
Norman Vella is a PN candidate for the upcoming European elections.