A leaner parliament with 45 full-time legislators, a Cabinet having no more than eight ministers and a ban on MPs holding any positions with government entities are among a set of proposals made by the Malta Employers' Association in a bid to restore trust in the country’s institutions.

The proposals was presented in a position paper submitted to  Carmelo Abela, the minister within the Office of the Prime Minister.  

“Politicians are seen as crooked or incompetent; the business community is perceived as corrupt; our justice system feared as being selective and manipulated. This distrust in our institutions is also eating away at our core values, with many believing that you cannot make headway in life through honest means,” the MEA said in a statement.

The employers said that restructuring of parliament would be a critical means through which other equally important reforms could be implemented. This reform would serve to restore a sense of normality and to safeguard against a reccurrence of the current state of affairs, the MEA said.

Under these proposals parliament would be reduced in size to have 45 MPs, albeit on a full-time basis, while Cabinet would have a maximum of eight ministers.

They proposed that MPs' annual salary should be €55,000 but they will not be able to occupy any position with government entities, nor have interest in private sector companies which can create a conflict of interest with their duties as legislators.

As for parliamentary secretaries the proposed annual salary is of €65,000, ministers €85,000 per year while the prime minister’s at €110,000.  Moreover, candidates for such posts  must be subject to due diligence, and not have been involved in any cases of corruption.

The association said all current contracts of positions of trust to be disclosed and reviewed, and terminated where necessary.

The employers also called for political parties to be partially State funded.

Fundraising, they said, should be restricted to individual donations and member subscriptions but corporate donations and door to door collections should be prohibited. Such measures will reduce the risk for parties having to resort to shady or possibly corrupt dealings to finance their activities, employers said.

The MEA said this reform would result in significant savings, fostering a culture of efficiency, attract more valid persons to politics, safeguard the separation of powers and have more equity between government and opposition MPs.

Read the position paper in full on pdf below. 

 

 

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