The public service needs to regain the virtues of meritocracy, professionalism, efficiency and loyalty to the government of the day, delivering a service that can ensure continuity in full respect of laws and regulations but able to stand up and attempt to check maladministration and abuse, Ombudsman Anthony Mifsudhas said.

Referring to the findings of the inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and the failures of the government and the public administration which led to a culture of impunity, the Ombudsman says in his annual report that public officers should deliver a service that is in all instances administratively correct and not politically or otherwise convenient.

"These are the traditional standards that permeated the public service and which the country has had the good fortune to enjoy for decades. They are the standards that can guarantee the exercise of a good public administration to which citizens are entitled. Much has been lost and in some respects these virtues have been severely dented. Much needs to be done to regain and restore them to the desired level," he added.

In his long introduction to the annual report, Mifsud, whose term expired last March and who is not seeking reappointment, reflects in detail on various aspects of public life, particularly good governance and the workings of the institutions set up under the constitution, not least his own office.

'Unacceptable' lack of information from the public administration

He complains that while investigations by his office require timely and correct information on administrative decisions, such information has been lacking by the public administration.

"Regrettably," he says, "there is a growing perception that this duty is not generally adequately recognized by the public administration. Instances of failure to provide such information to which the public is entitled abound at a level which is not acceptable in a modern, democratic society that really values the fundamental right of freedom of expression. It remains the duty of the Office of the Ombudsman to continue to highlight these failings that undermine the right of the citizen to a good public administration."

The Ombudsman expresses his frustration that despite his term having expired last March, no agreement has been reached between the government and the opposition for the appointment of a successor.

First failure of mechanism for appointment of Ombudsman

This, he notes, was the first time since the office was set up in 1995 that the mechanism for the appointment of the Ombudsman had failed. The present situation was even more serious since the same mechanism was also being used for other important appointments.

"Failure to reach agreement over a considerable period of time could lead to dangerous situations that imperil the proper functioning of democratic institutions. A vacuum of power that could lead to political instability and unrest. The lack of an inbuilt anti-deadlock mechanism could also give rise to excessive and unwelcome political manoeuvring and lobbying by political forces and others that is certainly not conducive to secure the appointment of the best and most qualified candidates for these sensitive posts."

The Ombudsman said he had, on various occasions, voiced his opinion that the anti-deadlock mechanism that needs to be found should not be limited to the appointment of the holder of his office. It should be a procedure applicable to all high positions heading constitutional authorities that now require a qualified majority of two-thirds of the Members of the House of Representatives, except of course for obvious reasons, that of the President himself.

He had proposed that when the House of Representatives fails to approve a resolution by the required qualified majority designating a person to be appointed as Ombudsman within a definite term to be stated in the Constitution, that decision should be referred to the President who would act in his own deliberate judgement.

"This proposal has today taken on additional constitutional significance following the recent amendments requiring that the President himself has to be appointed following a resolution that enjoys the qualified majority of two thirds of the Members of Parliament. A constitutional provision that even if indirectly, has bestowed on the Office of the President a measure of popular mandate further distancing his Office from partisan politics," the Ombudsman says. 

In his report the Ombudsman also complains about recommendations he makes on individual cases not being taken up by the administration, and about both sides not heeding his case reports when they are tabled in parliament.

Read the Ombudsman's report in full by clicking on the pdf below.