Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1078260
NEWS 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 FEBRUARY 2019 MASSIMO COSTA BACKBENCH MPs should be able to choose whether to take their parliamentary duties up on a full-time basis, and conse- quently be stopped from taking on other roles, a government member of the newly-formed public standards committee has suggested. Labour MP Edward Zam- mit Lewis, a government rep- resentative on the Standing Committee for Standards in Public Life, was replying to a question by this newspaper on whether he thought MPs who are given public appointments, should be – upon the end of their term – subjected to rules which stop them from taking up positions which conflict with their previous public role. The government is currently moving to update its Public Administration Act, with one of the proposed changes being the introduction of so-called "revolving doors" rules, meant to prevent high-ranking public employees inside regulatory authorities from taking jobs with companies with which they would have had dealings. While such public service em- ployees would have to abide by these restrictions, they would not automatically apply to MPs who are not considered civil servants. Zammit Lewis said the issue of whether 'revolving doors' rules should also apply to such MPs had to be viewed in the context of the wider debate on whether parliamentarians should be part-timers or full- timers. "We need to keep in mind that Maltese MPs are part- timers, and this makes the likelihood of them having some kind of conflict much greater, because they have to be engaged in other types of employment at the same time, since their parliamentary hon- orarium isn't sufficient to get by," the former tourism minis- ter said, adding, "Every MP has to do other work, it's a cross- party reality." In an ideal world, MPs should only be occupied with their parliamentary role, he said. "But can we afford this? This is why the issue is connected to whether our MPs should be full-timers or not." One way of dealing with this situation, he said, was to al- low MPs the option to go full- time. "I believe – and this is my personal opinion, not the Labour Party's position – that we should start giving MPs the option of being full-timers. I think that, to start out, we shouldn't oblige them to be full-timers, but they should be given the possibility." If an MP does choose the full- time route, ethics dictate that they be prohibited from taking on any other role, he under- lined. "It can then be analysed how this system works out, and whether full-time MPs start performing their roles better." He conceded that "nobody will give a straight answer" to the specific question of revolv- ing doors rules applying to MPs, but reiterated that a first possible step would be to offer a full-time route. Zammit Lewis also raised the point that it wasn't only the current Labour government which had handed out public appointments to its MPs. "The issue of backbenchers being given secondary roles isn't something which started now. It was also a feature of the 2008 to 2013 Nationalist gov- ernment, when – in a bid to calm his unsettled back- benchers – Lawrence Gonzi appointed some MPs as par- liamentary assis- tants," he said. "I would say there were con- flicts created in those instanc- es, since these parliamentary assistants were assigned roles within certain ministries, and the question arose of whether they were MPs or part of the executive. This was clearly wrong," he added, "But I'm not saying this to justify what is happening now, and more dis- cussions are needed on this." Asked about the same issue, Labour MP Byron Camilleri, also a government member of the Standards committee, sim- ilarly said that the matter had to be framed within a broader debate on the role of MPs. "Such a discussion would include a debate on whether an MP should be a full-timer or not," Camilleri said, "This was one of Labour's pledges in the last gen- eral election's m a n i f e s t o , and I look forward to the debate on the issue." He added that the discussion and any even- tual decisions should include both government and Opposi- tion MPs. Attempts were made to con- tact Nationalist Party MP Simon Busuttil, an Opposi- tion representative on the Standards committee, for his comment on the matter, but these were unsuccessful. PN MP Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, the Opposition's second rep- resentative on the committee was also contacted, but re- ferred the matter to fellow PN MP Karol Aquilina, who could not be reached. mcosta@mediatoday.com.mt Vacancy PROJECT COORDINATOR (Jobsplus Permit No: 582/2018) A vacancy for the post of Project Coordinator has arisen within NCPE, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality, as part of the project 820451 Prepare the Ground for Economic Independence. This post is equivalent to Public Service Salary Scale 7. The selected candidate will be expected to enter into a full-time definite contract (expiring in August 2020), where s/he will be responsible for the project activities including: - carry full responsibility for the planning, coordination, implementation and administration of the project from beginning to end; - be responsible for the financial scrutiny of each payment, procurement and monitoring; and - liaise with service providers and ensure all outputs are delivered in a timely manner and to a high standard. The Project Coordinator must be in possession of: Either A recognised Master's qualification at MQF level 7 (subject to a minimum of 60 ECTS/ECVET credits, or equivalent, with regard to programmes commencing as from October 2008) ; or an appropriate, recognised, comparable qualification + 1 year relevant work experience in EU project management Or A recognised Bachelor's qualification at MQF level 6 (subject to a minimum of 180 ECTS/ECVET credits, or equivalent with regard to programmes commencing as from October 2003); or an appropriate, recognised, comparable qualification + 3 years relevant work experience, 1 of which should be in EU project management The degree must be in Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology, Public Policy, Social Policy, Commerce, Law, European Studies, Communications, International Studies, or Social Work. The individual needs to be a good team player, well versed in equality issues, computer literate and able to use all MS Office applications. Strong communication skills including excellent writing skills in both Maltese and English are essential for this position. Knowledge/experience of Accounts, Management and Government procurement regulations is considered an asset. Interested persons should send their application together with a detailed CV to the Executive Director by not later than Friday 15 February 2019. Late submissions will not be considered. NCPE Gattard House, National Road, Blata l-Bajda ĦMR 9010 Tel: 2295 7850 E-mail: equality@gov.mt Web: www.equality.gov.mt Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme 2014-2020 Project part-financed by the European Union Co-financing rate: 80% EU funds; 20% National Funds MPs should have option to go full- time, standards committee MP says MPs with public sector executive roles are being spared 'revolving doors' rules that would stop them from jumping into private sector after leaving office Labour MP Edward Zammit Lewis "We shouldn't oblige them to be full-timers, but they should be given the possibility"