Cabinet members are following a revised ministerial code of ethics which is in place even though it has not yet been published, principal permanent secretary Mario Cutajar said on Times Talk this evening.
He said the government was also updating other codes of ethics before publishing them as one document.
The new, updated ministerial code of ethics has been in the offing for two years.
In March, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici had said that the new code would be published “in the coming days”.
His promise followed similar pledges over the course of a year, when the time frame varied repeatedly – from “soon” to “imminently”.
“While the previous code of ethics wasn’t bad, it was loaded with many procedures and mechanisms which had nothing to do with ethics or values,” Mr Cutajar explained.
“These have been removed – there were around 70 clauses, many of which were rules. We’ve removed them all and created a special manual. The actual code of ethics is built on values, what they mean and on the leadership of each minister.”
The Cabinet, he added, always had a code of ethics. The one drafted in 1994 remained in place until the new one was updated and entered into being.
Work was ongoing to revisit the other codes of ethics, such as those tackling government companies and public entities as well as public officials.
By the end of this year or the beginning of next year, these will be published as one document encapsulating the codes of ethics concerning the public administration.
But should the ministerial code of ethics be published so that the public could keep the government in check?
“The people keep the government in check constantly - not only through this measure but even in its work. For example prior laws being enacted, a White Paper is uploaded online for people to give their reaction.”
A review of the code of ethics was ordered by the Prime Minister at the height of the controversy surrounding his decision to allow former parliamentary secretary Franco Mercieca to keep his private medical practice, in breach of the code.
Joseph Muscat had said the code was drafted about 20 years earlier in different circumstances and was “tailor-made” for lawyers who were allowed to keep lecturing at the University. At that time he had indicated the review was moving at a fast pace and the first draft was due to be discussed by Cabinet.
Presented by Times of Malta’s head of media Herman Grech and chief reporter Mark Micallef, Times Talk is live on TVM on Tuesday at 6.45pm.
A repeat of the programme will be available on timesofmalta.com tomorrow.