An induction course for Regional Council Managers was launched this week during a press conference held by the Parliamentary Secretariat for Local Government and the Local Government Division. Strengthening human resources within regional councils is in line with Government’s vision for better governance within local government.

During this year, Government has invested towards strengthening the structures of regional councils by recruiting professional officers to serve as Regional Managers. The main aim of these professionals is to assist local councils and improve the quality, accountability, and sustainability of their services.

Each Regional Manager will be responsible for a specific sector. These include: the administration of local and EU funds, culture, information technology, environment, waste management and the managing and implementation of projects. The induction course will comprise of 16 lectures covering the administrative and technical expectations of each sector.

This course will help Regional Managers integrate with Local Government stakeholders. The increase in knowledge and skills will improve the communication between all stakeholders involved, which in return will minimise the risk of misunderstandings that may hinder the services offered to citizens by local councils.

Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government Alison Zerafa Civelli explained that the human resource is one of the most important resources for the effective and efficient implementation of strategies within any organisation; as such, “This investment in human resources will continue to strengthen and improve the governance of both regional and local councils,” concluded Zerafa Civelli.

The Director for Strategy and Policy Implementation within the Local Government Division explained that the investment through the recruitment of these Regional Managers, as well as the induction programme will contribute towards reaching the highest level of good governance within regional and local councils.