Ministers sitting on the Public Accounts Committee had a potential conflict of interest because they were meant to scrutinise the government they formed part of, former Ombudsman Joseph Sammut said.
PAC should be properly composed
“It is difficult for them to scrutinise and publicly discuss actions and policies taken by the Cabinet to which they belong”, he argued.
The House Committee should serve as an instrument of good governance that scrutinised public funds in a technical, non-partisan and policy-neutral way, he said.
“If the Committee is to act as a catalyst for the improvement of administrative efficiency, it should be properly composed, adequately resourced and enabled to perform its functions in a cooperative, non-partisan manner,” he insisted.
Mr Sammut, who served as Malta’s first Ombudsman between 1995 and 2005 following a long career in the public service, made his argument in a paper published as part of a report by The Today Public Policy Institute.
He made no direct reference to the bickering last October over the witnesses that were meant to testify in the hearings on the controversial extension of the Delimara power plant.
However, he said the Committee was undermined by the fact that the rulings on the agenda, the calling of witnesses and even the provision of information could be challenged and subjected to a majority vote.