Civil Service head Mario Cutajar says trimming bureaucracy is a cultural challenge for “inward-looking” Government departments.
Laying out the difficulties at a meeting with the Local Council Association, Mr Cutajar said departments often “protected their turf” by sticking to rules and regulations that have been in place for decades.
He was speaking at a press conference attended by Parliamentary Secretary Michael Farrugia, responsible for simplifying government processes and anti-bureaucracy czar Michael Falzon.
Mr Cutajar said changing the mentality was a gradual process that required the collaboration of unions and workers.
“I will be holding a round table conference with all unions represented in the public service to explain what the Government wants to achieve. They will come with their demands but it is to be expected because what we will be asking is for work practices to change,” Mr Cutajar said when asked whether unions embraced the changes.
Mr Cutajar said the civil service had to be customer-oriented, something that required a culture change from the current situation where antiquated rules and regulations prevailed over everything else.
He cited the example of promotions that had to be signed-off by the Prime Minister after being approved by the Public Service Commission. “This extends the approval process by another three weeks. Is it necessary to have the Prime Minister involved if the appointment was approved by the commission?”
He noted the public service was strong on institutional knowledge and employed some very good people but training will be provided through collaboration with the University of Malta’s public policy department.
Dr Farrugia said the Government wanted to simplify processes and cut bureaucracy by changing the way things have always been done.
“It is not easy but Michael Falzon and myself have been speaking to the different ministers to identify bottlenecks and address the problems,” he said.
Dr Farrugia noted that local councils could help by providing accessibility to people who did not have internet or a computer to access Government services.