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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2014 3 Wardens' CEO upbeat despite swipe at 'profit-driven' system JURGEN BALZAN THE parliamentary secretary for local councils intends curbing costs from private operators from the local enforcement system, in a bid to cut down on the LES's "profit-driven" system which is aimed at financing the cost of deploying local wardens. A source privy to talks between the government and operators like Ken- neth Demartino, the chief executive of Guard & Warden Co Ltd, and technology providers Loqus, said that government was looking at ways to drastically cut down on fees being charged by the providers of wardens and on the processing of speed tick- ets. On his part, Demartino yesterday sounded undeterred at the prospect of a 'nationalisation' of the enforce- ment system. "It is still too early to come to such a conclusion. The reform wants more efficiency and cost-reduction – that doesn't mean removing the private operators like the warden providers, executive of- ficers or the IT providers." Demartino said discussions with former Kalkara mayor Michael Co- hen, the government's consultant on the LES reform, were still ongoing. "I have presented proposals which I be- lieve the government is prepared to analyse, and which will give a better, cheaper and more efficient system." Yesterday, parliamentary secretary José Herrera addressed the first of three public consultations that will precede a final Cabinet decision on the LES reform. "The country is one step closer to having a fairer and more transpar- ent system," Herrera said, although he did not confirm whether the sys- tem will be nationalised, hinting in- stead at a complete overhaul in the system's administration was on the horizon. Herrera said the new system should be driven by "commercial interest", citing as example cases where war- dens are deployed during particular events such as village feasts, which attract large crowds, to yield the maximum number of contraven- tions. "The law should be enforced, but in a fair and transparent man- ner," Herrera said. He was speaking to residents, lo- cal councillors and other stakehold- ers in St Paul's Bay, who brought up cases of abuse and discrimination by wardens – while one St Paul's Bay resident insisted that wardens were not being allowed to carry out their job freely due to interference. In reaction, Herrera reassured that education and training were one of the government's key objectives in the reform. "After holding talks with unions and other stakeholders, all wardens will retain their job, but they will undergo a training pro- gramme, to ensure they are prepared to render a fairer and more transpar- ent service." Herrera said the current system was "expensive" and that a better service could be offered while at the same safeguarding the public inter- est with a "sustainable and efficient service." Under his proposals, a new system will aim at reducing costs by 20% and become more efficient in collecting some €18 million in unpaid fines, which mostly goes to the company running the system. "After holding this consultation process we will be in a better position to take decisions which are natural," Herrera said. Currently two private companies, Guard & Warden and Sterling Secu- rity, run the gamut of local enforce- ment services, deploying wardens to the councils, and monitoring CCTV systems, while Loqus (formerly Datatrak) processes speed camera fines. One of the White Paper's key pro- posals is that of creating a centralised unit which would enforce laws del- egated to the five regional commit- tees. This would effectively transfer the administration of local wardens from the private company to an "independent", albeit government- created, unit. This means effectively taking on the administration of local wardens from the private companies current- ly providing the manpower for the local councils. Herrera also suggested that one of the pos- sible solutions to collecting unpaid fines is to make it a criminal offence not to pay fines issued by local wardens. He said that a substantial amount of unpaid fines "amounting to millions" were issued to foreigners who visit Malta with their own vehicles and leave without paying. Herrera said the gov- ernment was looking at a number of solutions, including a system which would not allow the foreigners to leave the country without paying their traffic fines. The government's consultant on the new centralised unit, Michael Cohen, said the new system will see local councils benefit from the mon- ey collected from fines, which at the moment are mostly absorbed by the private operators to finance the de- ployment of wardens. One of the proposals could see the creation of eco-wardens. Less than 1% of fines were being issued over environmental offences in the cen- tral and northern region. Parliamentary secretary for local councils José Herrera yesterday said the local enforcement system cannot be "profit-driven" but Guard & Warden chief executive officer Kenneth Demartino says he has proposals to cut costs for local councils. Electricity theft is a serious crime. Regularise your position before it's too late. Contact us now. t. 8007 2245 e. reports.emc@enemalta.com.mt If you have, or suspect, any irregularity in your electricity meter or in your consumption readings, we are giving you an option to set things right. Avoid further consequences by paying up for unrecorded consumption as specified by law (Legal Notice 18 of 2006) and by providing information about the irregularity. This option is available until Monday 7th April 2014. www.enemalta.com.mt News