Editorial: No authority without power

Can we all agree on one thing? Setting up a competent authority does not exonerate the government – or it – from tackling a problem in an effective way. Quite the contrary: the whole point of an authority is to have an entity with expertise and independence which can do something about it.

And in a small island, where holes are punched into the cloak of credibility by the network of ‘friends’, this is the only way that things will improve.

An authority is not supposed to be about appointing unqualified or incompetent people, and certainly not about setting up an entity that can be swayed by a telephone call – whichever level of the hierarchy it comes from.

Malta has got to the stage of apathy where we shrug about the most alarming stories, assuming that nothing can be done to change the status quo. A man loses a leg in an accident? The police don’t have a car? No one can control the noise pollution? An entire layer of scaffolding falls into one street and an entire building into another?

The worst thing is that we cannot claim ignorance about the lacunae in governance: media stories appear; the ombudsman publishes his recommendation; the auditor general investigates an entity; the court lambasts a “convoluted and highly bureaucratic process”. All we can plead is passive acceptance.

The latest story involved an investigation by the auditor general into the Building and Construction Authority into property energy certificates, which found that “weak monitoring systems and years-long backlogs leave compliance largely unchecked”.

The BCA failed to act against breaches, and compliance was falling through the cracks of “lengthy backlogs, archaic monitoring systems and poor paper trails”.

The report noted that the authority was “riddled with backlogs and missing records” and that this had been going on for years.

And this is where the credibility issue comes into focus: was the authority not given enough resources to monitor these important rules?

Were the rules set up merely to appease Malta’s obligations to do something about energy performance, without any intention of doing something about it? Or is the authority simply incompetent?

The latest story involved an investigation by the auditor general into the Building and Construction Authority into property energy certificates, which found that ‘weak monitoring systems and years-long backlogs leave compliance largely unchecked’

A few facts from the NAO report that should demonstrate what has been written above. First, this is not the first time that the shortcomings have been highlighted: we knew in 2020 that something was not working, but nothing was done about it…

And the lack of resources is dire: there was one solitary officer working on the verification of energy certificates, with the whole process being abandoned – not rectified – in 2020.

Promises to review the system and fix it ring false as soon as deadlines are allowed to drift past.

This is why the problem is not merely reality but also perception. We must be persuaded that the government actually wants to solve problems and is not merely trying to appease Brussels and/or voters.

And the delay in action and reaction do not help to challenge perceptions.

How many cases of incompetence and inaction have been reported in the media or posted onto social media, without any update?

Cases that get to court drag on over years and years. Cases of dangerous driving disappear without trace. Unacceptable behaviour gets mired in “police are investigating” tropes until forgotten.

The deterrent factor matters: you should be reasonably sure that if you misbehave in any way that you will have to face the consequences.

It is also important for those who go through the cost and hassle of compliance to know that law and order, and civic conscience, means that the level playing field will be imposed.

 Authorities are not a smokescreen but they exist to ensure that our economic growth is being used wisely with an eye on the long-term.