The public sector has to pull up its socks and work hard to come out of the existing “leadership crisis”, the head of the civil service is warning.
Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar did not mince his words when he addressed a one-day conference for senior civil service officials in the presence of the Prime Minister.
He even described certain aspects of the public sector “a farce”.
The event was part of a government initiative meant to give impetus to the civil service reform and participants were asked for feedback on a number of recommendations. The proposals will be communicated to social partners next week.
Practice of having the public going round in circles is unacceptable
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat echoed Mr Cutajar’s concerns, albeit in a more measured tone, saying the biggest challenge faced by the public service was to change the mentality of putting decisions on the backburner indefinitely.
On the other hand, he admitted, at times politicians were to blame for casting a shadow over the civil service.
Dr Muscat remarked that the crucial aspect of the reform was to introduce a new mentality in the decision-making process.
He pledged to stick his neck out for those civil servants who would not be taken aback by the prospect of having to make important decisions, even at the cost of not getting it right first time.
Dr Muscat stressed the need to cut bureaucracy and to take decisions within a reasonable timeframe. Rather than rewarding civil servants for proposing new work practices and regulations, the priority should be to shed obsolete ones, he said.
Noting that the government was the major employer on the island, he said the public service could, nevertheless, be more manageable and flexible than it was at present.
The notoriously bureaucratic public sector was even described as “a schizophrenic experience” by the Prime Minister who said that the practice of having the public going around in circles from one entity to another was unacceptable. Dr Muscat emphasised that the government wanted to be a role model for employers by promoting family-friendly measures and taking a tough stance against precarious employment.
In his opening speech, Mr Cutajar said certain aspects of the public service needed a complete overhaul. He cited the example of the performance indicators for senior officials, saying more often than not these verged on the farcical.
One of the first measures taken by this administration was to introduce new performance assessment indicators for permanent secretaries.
Regarding the quality service charters launched along the years, he said these had lost momentum and eventually failed.
Mr Cutajar said it was shameful that certain parastatal entities shouldered the responsibility to administer budgets in the order of millions but then had no authority to make minor decisions, such as employing a clerk.
He also spoke against the “baroque culture” prevailing in some quarters where civil servants were going to ridiculous extremes to follow the rules by the book.
On a positive note, he said the public service had shown it was able to adapt to numerous changes, including Malta’s accession to the EU. He said next year the government would be introducing various one-stop-shops in sensitive areas like social policy.
Mr Cutajar also raised the issue of the need for reviewing the disciplinary code and making the Public Administration Act more customer-oriented.