Updated at 6.21pm with Opposition's reaction below

A Bill which is meant to remove the prime minister's involvement in the appointment of permanent secretaries is 'cosmetic' and needs to be reconsidered, the Opposition insisted in parliament on Tuesday.

The Bill, which amends the Constitution, was moved by Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis, who said this was the latest in a package of reforms agreed with the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe to strengthen democracy.

He recalled that among the most important reforms in the package, already approved by the House, was the method of appointment of judges, This would be put in practice in the coming weeks when new members of the judiciary would be nominated by their peers, with no involvement by the government. 

Zammit Lewis said there were various schools of thought on the roles of the permanent secretaries - which head the administration of the various ministries. Some saw a political role. But Malta had inherited the British tradition where, as far as possible, the administration of the country was distinct from the politicians. Some felt there should be a mix of the two with an element of trust by the government in the incumbents. 

An element of trust was understandably needed between the government and those leading the public service. 

The Venice Commission had recommended that the prime minister should not have a direct role in the appointment of the permanent secretaries - powers which had existed for many years. 

The bill will draw a distinction between the appointment of permanent secretaries and the Principal Permanent Secretary.

The latter will select a pool of people who will appear before the Public Service Commission (PSC) which will nominate them for appointment to the various ministries as permanent secretaries. The appointments will be made by the President. In this way, the prime minister was renouncing his current power to appoint permanent secretaries, the minister said.

He also pointed out that the Public Service Commission includes two people nominated by the government, two by the opposition, with the chairman agreed by both sides. He was satisfied, the minister said, that the PSC was an independent institution.

The minister added that with regard to the Principal Permanent Secretary, he had explained to the Venice Commission that the PPS in Malta is also the Cabinet Secretary. This made logistical sense for good administration. For this reason, the name of any new PPS will be suggested to the Public Service Commission by the Cabinet, instead of the prime minister as at present. The appointment will ultimately be made by the president.  

Zammit Lewis said that although the bill was not fully in line with what the Venice Commission had originally proposed, the commission had remarked that the new system is 'a clear improvement'  as the prime minister will no longer have a direct influence, and the ultimate decision on appointments will be taken by the Public Service Commission. 

Important role of permanent secretaries

The minister was followed by Nationalist MP Joe Ellis, who underlined the important role which permanent secretaries have in the smooth running of the civil service, and its continuity despite a change of government.

Alfred Sant had retained permanent secretaries upon his government's election in 1996. But, alas, the new Muscat government in 2013 removed almost all of them at a stroke - forcing them to resign - in a blow to the institute of permanent secretaries. This was a fundamental mistake which, he hoped, would not be repeated. 

The duties of the permanent secretaries were to the constitution and the country not the government, he said. Permanent secretaries should not act as if they were secretaries to their ministers.  

Turning to the bill, Ellis said that despite what the minister had said, the government would continue to have a strong role in the appointment of permanent secretaries. The formula was being changed, but the prime minister would still have a finger in the pie. 

In terms of the bill, the President would act on the advice of the PSC which would itself receive the recommendations from the Principal Permanent Secretary, who himself would be selected by the Cabinet. And the Cabinet was, of course, led by the prime minister. 

Therefore, the changes in the law were actually marginal and cosmetic.

The Opposition agreed that the PPS and permanent secretaries should be appointed at arm's length from the government, but it disagreed with the wording of the Bill.

"The change has to be real, not cosmetic," Ellis insisted.

What had stopped the government from adopting the method now being used for the appointment of the members of the judiciary?  There could be a public call for applications, with the Public Service Commission then making its recommendations to the President. 

This would add credibility to the public administration, the Nationalist MP stressed. He urged the government to reconsider.