Government ready to extend term of local councils

Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said yesterday that the government was prepared to legislate to extend the tenure of local councils to four years if there was all round agreement for such an extension.

The minister was speaking at the opening of the debate on a bill to amend the Local Councils Act.

This bill, he said, incorporated provisions about which the government felt there was consensus. More provisions could be added, even during this debate.

For example, this bill did not include a clause extending the term of office of the councils to four years from the current three. Although the mayors some years ago had unanimously approved a motion to extend the term of the councils, the Labour Party had not said anything publicly about this idea other than at the recent MLP general conference when Opposition leader Alfred Sant said it made sense that the term of office is extended to four years. The government was prepared to move such an amendment. Dr Sant, however, had linked such a change with amendments to the General Elections Act which had nothing to do with the issue. The government would be prepared to move an amendment for an extension of the term of the councils if that was seen to be a good idea, without linking it to other matters.

Dr Borg said one of the main provisions of the bill provided that the candidate who wins the highest number of first count votes from the political party winning a majority of seats in the council would be appointed mayor, while the second placed candidate from the same party would be deputy mayor.

He agreed that the system was not perfect. The person chosen to be mayor by the people may not the best person for that role, but the current system, where the mayor was selected by the councillors, was not perfect either. He preferred the choice of the people, which was the closest to direct election.

When no party won a majority of seats in a council, the current system would be retained and the mayor would be appointed by the councillors. Should there be a stalemate, the oldest councillor from the party winning the largest number of votes would be appointed mayor.

The bill also provided that a candidate may stand for election to a local council in a locality where he is not resident. This provision would not apply from the next election on March 12.

The rights of minorities in local councils were being improved in that when a motion of no confidence was proposed, if that motion was not debated within a week, the proponent may himself fix a date for the debate.

The bill was entrusting responsibility to the councils for the upkeep of bus shelters, libraries and the enforcement of certain laws the contravention of which fell under the jurisdiction of the Commissioners of Justice. Such enforcement, however, would not be exclusive to the councils.

Also in terms of this bill, the social security contribution would not be deducted from the honoraria of mayors. Mayors would be able to preside over civil marriages and they would be exempt from jury service.

A council executive secretary may not stand for election for any local council unless he resigned his post.

Other provisions removed the need for all commercial establishments within 50 metres of a polling booth to close on election day. Political party clubs, however, would still be required to close. The Commissioner of Police and the Electoral Commission may also require outlets to close if their opening created problems.

Voting documents for local council elections would, in terms of this bill, be distributed by registered mail and not by policemen, as at present. It would also be sufficient, from 2006, for the identity card to be used instead of the voting document once sufficient controls were in place.

Furthermore, polling booths would have curtains to ensure there was greater privacy. These provisions, Dr Borg said, would not be introduced at the next elections.

Dr Borg said that also in terms of this bill, boundaries applicable for local councils would be applicable for all other government entities.

The minister, after consulting the Local Councils Association, may also issue regulations for the representation of Maltese councillors on the Committee of Regions of the European Union.

In his speech Dr Borg briefly went over developments since the enactment of legislation on local councils almost 12 years ago.

He said the councils had made a difference, improving their localities, working as pressure groups in areas for which they were not directly responsible, and helping to instil a culture of devolution from central government.

He also pointed out how the government was allocating Lm10.2 million to local councils and had seconded some 200 workers to work with councils.

Labour MP Chris Cardona said that if one looked at councils' global expenditure in the past 10 years one would realise that this was good value for money since there were government departments which spent much more and did much less.

Many councils were making a success out of their work and their responsibilities should be increased.

The opposition felt that the time had come for the regulatory system of councils to reflect current needs. Solutions had to be found to loopholes in the Local Councils Act, such as in law enforcement, environmental protection and education.

One had to see how councils could benefit from Malta's EU membership. There were funds which were related to twinning projects and one had to work for EU benefits not to be lost.

The government, in contrast to the opposition, was lacking real commitment to the councils, a situation the people recognised at the last local councils' election. The opposition's representatives and Labour councillors were holding regular meetings with the people, NGOs, and sports organisations, among others, and came up with ideas such as the Cottonera plan, uniting the councils of the area. The MLP had also hosted a conference on local councils.

Dr Cardona said the government had last year abruptly reduced funding for the councils, causing major problems since councils had already committed their funds.

The proposals made in the bill made sense, but one would have expected more vision. The lack of ideas by the government was proving to be more serious than the lack of funds.

The MLP had long had a policy that the candidate with most votes should be appointed mayor.

The measure exempting mayors from jury service was positive, as was the provision that one could stand for election in a locality which was not where he lived.

Other amendments the opposition agreed with included the administration of public libraries, maintenance of bus shelters and law enforcement.

This bill, however, was half-baked and should include several other amendments.

How could the minister commit the opposition to agree to something which was not up for debate, such as an extension of the term of the councils?

The government knew the opposition's position. This was not the issue. But the opposition wanted councils which would have their mind at rest and would not have a government which suddenly reduced their funds.

Also missing from the bill were amendments regarding the of Local Councils Association.

The way the association was composed was an insult to democracy and to democratic representation. Although the majority of councillors were Labour, Labour was in a minority in the association.

This situation could not continue to be tolerated. If necessary, Labour councillors would leave the association, set up a separate association and obtain European recognition for it.

The bill did not say anything about councils working together to benefit their region. Different areas had different needs and councils should group together to draw up programmes according to their realities.

The time had also come for the setting up of a structure to provide training in local administration.

The bill also did not say anything on how councils could work more in the social welfare sector.

Labour had made proposals about the opening of schools after hours. Councils could, for example, play a role in providing further education to children who would have fallen behind.

Concluding, Dr Cardona referred to Safi council and said it was shameful that the mayor did not accept a request by an unsuccessful MLP candidate to sit on a sub-committee, the mayor telling the candidate that he could not forget what his father had done to him. The candidate's father, Bartholomew Mula, a police officer, was widely respected as a person of integrity, Dr Cardona said.

There were also other issues in the Safi council which should be of concern, such as when it came to websites, Dr Cardona said.