Three weeks on from the election, and people might be forgiven for thinking that the Civil Service is operating in bureaucratic limbo. Permanent secretaries are overseeing ministries which technically no longer exist and several civil servants are on tenterhooks wondering if they will retain their posts, even though the Nationalist Party returned for a third term.

But Principal Permanent Secretary Godwin Grima insisted that it is business as usual even if he is carrying out a stocktake in a bid to create a leaner and more efficient administration.

"The Government is not in limbo, but there is a transition... of course every change creates uncertainty," Dr Grima told The Sunday Times.

Civil servants have been instructed to continue with the job they were doing before the March 8 election, pending further instructions.

In the meantime, Dr Grima has asked all the heads of different departments and administrations to submit detailed returns of their responsibilities. He underlined the need for a flexible system and said the period of transition has given the authorities the chance to revisit the structures.

"We need to look at all the boards and committees and analyse the way they work. Perhaps it's time to regroup certain authorities to go for a leaner administration, though not at the expense of efficiency," explained Dr Grima, who has headed the civil service since 2005. For the last few years, the Government is employing new workers only if necessary.

The fact that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has chosen to trim his Cabinet from 13 to nine ministers should automatically mean that four permanent secretaries are made redundant.

But Dr Grima said that this should not necessarily be a foregone conclusion, especially since four of the serving permanent secretaries should be retiring in the coming weeks.

Besides, it might make sense for certain ministries to have two permanent secretaries serving in a single ministry, like the Ministry for Social Policy, which also incorporates the health sector.

It was also worth looking at the possibility of appointing an understudy with each permanent secretary, 18 months before the incumbent's retirement.

Dr Grima is reluctant to give a target date by which time the necessary reforms in the Civil Service will be carried out, but as the Easter and public holidays come to an end, matters are expected to move at a faster pace.

All public meetings of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority board and the Development Control Commissions will, in fact, resume from Tuesday.