(Adds press conference by head of civil service)
Ministers and parliamentary secretaries can get Cabinet clearance to continue with their private practice “if this is in the national interest”, according to the new watered down code of ethics.
Accountability may also be diluted as Cabinet members no longer have to rigorously declare all their assets – including those of their spouses and children – by a particular date every year.
A copy of the long-awaited code for ministers and parliamentary secretaries was provided by the government after Times of Malta made a formal request. An exercise conducted by this newspaper – comparing the 1994 ministerial code of ethics drawn up under then prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami with the latest one drafted under Prime Minister Joseph Muscat – exposes significant changes.
While under PN governments, ministers were completely excluded from doing private work or pursuing their professions, this condition has been amended.
Cabinet can decide otherwise in exceptional cases
The new code specifies that, although ministers are still expected to dedicate all their time to their government job, “Cabinet can decide otherwise in exceptional cases, if this is in the national interest”.
A controversy over this had arisen in 2013 when Labour was voted into power and then parliamentary secretary Franco Mercieca – a highly regarded ophthalmologist – had continued with his private practice in breach of the code of ethics.
At the time, the Prime Minister justified Mr Mercieca’s position saying he had given him a waiver from the code of ethics, even if this possibility did not exist.
Asset declaration rules changed
The new code has validated this practice. It is at the Prime Minister’s discretion to decide if it is “in the national interest” for ministers or parliamentary secretaries to continue with their private practice while occupying a ministerial role.
Another significant change introduced concerns the annual ministerial declaration of assets.
While keeping the clause stipulating that ministers have to make an annual declaration, the detailed sub-clauses specified in the previous code have been removed.
It is at the Prime Minister’s discretion to decide if it is in the national interest
The need for Cabinet members to include the assets of their spouses and underage children has also been removed. Under the previous code, it was specified that the annual declaration had to be made by “no later than the month of March of each year” so that the public could expect the declarations to be presented to Parliament soon after.
The new code removes this date and just states that the declaration has to be made every year “as indicated from time to time”.
When elected in March 2013, Dr Muscat had ordered a revision of the ministerial code of ethics. This newspaper has been chasing the government for the revised code ever since. More than two years later, news that the code had been finalised last February was only revealed by principal permanent secretary Mario Cutajar during last Tuesday’s edition of Times Talk.
While announcing the new code, Mr Cutajar said the government had not yet published it as it was still “updating other codes to publish them as one document”.
However, when Times of Malta asked for a copy, Mr Cutajar immediately obliged.
Was Justice Minister aware of the code?
Justice Minister Owen Bonnici was the minister tasked with drawing up the new code of ethics.
When Times of Malta had asked Dr Bonnici about the progress on the revision of the code last March, he had said it would be published “in the coming days”.
Following revelations that the code had been put in place at least a month before, Times of Malta asked again Dr Bonnici whether in March he had been aware that the code was already in force.
Dr Bonnici’s ministry replied: “Minister Bonnici has provided Times of Malta journalists with an overview, which was truthful and correct, of the process undertaken in the formulation and approval by Cabinet of a new code of ethics. The focus of the questions by Times of Malta then shifted to when this code of ethics would be published.”
NEW CODE 'IDENTICAL' BUT MORE REALISTIC - MARIO CUTAJAR
The head of the civil service Mario Cutajar defended the new code and said it was “identical to” but “a more realistic version” to the one that preceded it.
He defended the insertion in the new code allowing members of cabinet to retain their private practice if this was in the national interest.
Asked who decided what was in the national interest, Mr Cutajar said that it was the Prime Minister and cabinet.
While stating that under the previous code of ethics former Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca could not continue with his private practice, the new code allowed for this possibility if Cabinet decided this was in the national interest.
With regard to the annual declaration of assets, Mr Cutajar said Cabinet members still had to rigorously declare all their assets, including those of their spouses and minor children.
However, this clause had now been included in a manual to be attached to the code of ethics, he said.