Authorities or not authorities

The government had a very good idea when it established a number of authorities.

These authorities were supposed to take the workload off the minister and allow men and women from the private sector, chosen for their expertise, dedication and drive, to advise the minister and make good and concrete decisions.

Within these authorities there are directorates that deal with specific subjects. These directorates then make decisions about such specific subjects and these decisions are then taken to the main board for ratification. These, in turn, are taken to the minister for implementation. Anyway, that is the theory.

The main boards of these authorities, and the boards of the directorates, are made up of people from the private sector who serve the government because they really want to help the country in some small way or another.

They certainly do not serve in these boards solely for the remuneration. They spend hours and hours of their valuable time trying to help make the correct decisions in order to keep our country moving in the correct direction.

The Maltese people should be very grateful to these public-spirited people who dedicate so much of their valuable time for the good of the country.

Imagine how frustrating it is, therefore, when hours are spent making correct decisions, and decisions that need to be actioned urgently, and decisions that are transmitted to the main board, and these decisions sanctioned by the main board, and these decisions passed on to the highest level and then...!

If you wonder why things are not done quickly in Malta it isn't because the directorates don't work. Or the authorities don't work. Or the ministries don't work. Or the minister doesn't work. It is because there are 1,001 things standing in the way of progress. Everybody has to have his or her say.

In order to organise the new beach in St Georges Bay there were about 20 organisations that could potentially mess up the whole deal by either taking their time, or creating problems, having ulterior motives, or not attending meetings where important decisions were to be made. We are choking ourselves with bureaucracy.

Spinola Developments Ltd, the developers of Portomaso, have been waiting for years to rearrange and rebuild the garden outside Spinola Palace. Landscape it and embellish it. Redo the roads around it and all with their own money.

Why hasn't it been done when it is so urgent and important for it to be done? No other reason than excessive bureaucracy. Private enterprise is ready to go. Where is everyone else?

As far as I know, after years of talking, the permit will shortly be issued by the planning authority and work can commence.

This permit will probably arrive just before summer and the choice will be either to do the work in the summer months or leave it for yet another year allowing tourists to continue to see this terrible example of our neglect.

If ministers give the authority to authorities then let those authorities work. Good men and women were chosen to make important decisions. Let them make those decisions and let these decisions be carried out in the smoothest way possible. In other words, give the authorities sufficient teeth in order to be really authoritative and do their job properly.

Mr Salt is a former chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority's product planning and development directorate.