Opposition leader Simon Busuttil’s pledge to have a Minister for Complaints if he is elected prime minister remains unexplained as questions arise about how such a post will work.

Dr Busuttil floated the proposal last Saturday during the Independence Day festivities organised by the Nationalist Party. He said the ministry would serve as a means to combat clientelism and ensure justice was done.

The minister would be tasked with receiving complaints and inform people whether they were justified or not.

But how the mechanism would work in practice remained unclear yesterday with a spokesman for Dr Busuttil insisting the proposal would be explained in further detail later this year.

The PN proposal received a cynical reaction from Godfrey Pirotta, professor of public policy at the University of Malta, who on Facebook questioned the futility of such a move. 

“Hahaha. Not when we have an electoral system that since 1921 has made clientelism the prime institution in the country. That job will be a waste of money,” Prof. Pirotta wrote.

It is unclear whether the proposed ministry will be replicating the work done by the Ombudsman, which investigates administrative shortcomings and proposes remedies.

The PN spokesman would only say the proposal was among others in a package on good governance the PN would unveil towards the end of this year.