Wardens hiding behind parked cars and issuing excessive citations will become a thing of the past, thanks to a new agency tasked with regulating the service, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said yesterday.

Addressing a press conference, Dr Bonnici said he had received several complaints about wardens adopting unscrupulous tactics to catch motorists in the act.

Deputy police commissioner Ray Zammit, who was in charge of the island’s traffic police system for seven years, will head the new agency regulating the warden service. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

“We want a service that puts citizens’ best interests at the core of its operations. It is about time action is taken on this, for the benefit of society in general,” he said.

The warden service is provided by private operators who enter into contractual agreements with regional councils. At present the service is regulated by a number of different bodies, including local tribunals, authorised officers and local councils.

Speaking to Times of Malta from the sidelines of the press conference, Dr Bonnici said he had been surprised to find there was no single entity tasked with overseeing this public service, even though it was driven by private sector incentives.

“This is a service that involves too many stakeholders. We need to simplify it,” he said. The agency, to be headed by deputy police commissioner Ray Zammit (see box on right), will be formally announced tomorrow and will have till the end of the year to draft a plan on how to address the situation.

Details on how the reform would work in practice are still sketchy. However, when asked whether the agency would be compiling a list of unacceptable practices, Dr Bonnici said something of the sort would eventually be required.

The agency will first be meeting with all the different entities involved in the provision of the service to map out a way forward. It will also meet with unions, to address concerns that have already been flagged, Dr Bonnici said.

He was quick to add that the reform would not be an exercise in removing private operators from the equation but would instead seek to improve the service that they provide.

Neither would the reform seek to take over from the regional councils. It would only “centralise” the system of enforcement.

Dr Bonnici added that the need for a reform of the warden service had been flagged by the Labour Party before the 2013 general election, and this formed part of the government’s commitment to realise all of its promises.

Minister defends appointment

Dr Bonnici defended the decision to appoint depu-ty police commissioner Ray Zammit to head the new warden watchdog yesterday, saying any “previous shortcomings” had nothing to do with his new position.

Mr Zammit was made to resign from his position as acting police commissioner last November after he fanned the flames of accusation of a cover-up involving then home affairs minister Manuel Mallia.

An inquiry following an incident in which Dr Mallia’s ministerial driver fired his weapon at another motorist found that Mr Zammit had allowed incorrect information to be released to the media. Asked about Mr Zammit’s credibility for the role, Dr Bonnici said he saw no need to factor in what had happened in the past.

He said Mr Zammit had some 40 years of service in the police force, including some seven years in charge of the island’s entire traffic police system. He said he could think of no reason that Mr Zammit would not fit the bill.