The government has acknowledged the criticism it received for making a single ministry responsible for both justice and home affairs, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced this morning.

As a result, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice Owen Bonnici will no longer be answerable to Home Affairs and National Security Minister Manuel Mallia, but will now join the Office of the Prime Minister.

Speaking during a press conference held to mark the new government’s first 100 days, Dr Muscat said that the government had felt that having two cabinet members responsible for justice and home affairs had been sufficient – the Labour Party had criticised the fact that former minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici had been responsible for both until a January 2012 reshuffle.

But it was recognising the validity of the criticism received, he said, emphasising that Dr Bonnici’s move to the OPM is being made with Dr Mallia’s blessing.

Dr Muscat also seized the occasion to make two further announcements.

MP and former Labour deputy leader Michael Falzon has been appointed as the Commissioner Against Bureaucracy, a position which had been promised in the electoral manifesto.

The government is aiming to reduce bureaucracy by a quarter, and Dr Muscat emphasised that Dr Falzon would have a hands-on role through which he scrutinised the processes employed in the public service to determine whether they could be simplified.

Dr Muscat said that he was sick of the bureaucracy he encountered, admitting that he had underestimated its extent. He said that while bureaucracy which increased accountability was justified and would be retained, a lot of bureaucratic procedures appeared to be simply in place out of habit.

Fewer details were forthcoming in the other announcement made: that a consultative council for the south will be set up shortly.

Dr Muscat recalled that the Labour Party had established a spokesman for the south – Silvio Parnis – when it was in opposition, and that this led to speculation that a Labour government would have a Minister for the South. But he added that the party’s intention was always to set up a consultative committee dealing with issues faced in the south of the island.

He said that details on this council would be announced in the coming days.

In his address, Dr Muscat said that the government focused on ensuring a tranquil transition, adding that the doomsday scenarios predicted in some quarters were dispelled in the first minute.

But he insisted that he found a public service that had not been prepared for a handover.

The prime minister said that the government preferred not to focus on talking about the problems it had faced – as opposed to dealing with them – but was nevertheless carrying out internal audits to assess the situation and to determine who was responsible.

Dr Muscat argued that the previous government had stopped functioning in its last year: it was taking no important decisions, and was more concerned with the approaching election.

“Its energy was aimed at the electoral cycle, but ours is aimed at the economic cycle,” he said.

According to the prime minister, the new government had four main aims in its early days: to start the implementation of major projects – such as the redevelopment of the Marsa Shipbuilding site – which would have an impact in the second half of this legislature; to set its energy plan in motion; to start reducing excess bureaucracy and to ensure that EU funds pertaining to the 2007-2013 funding period are not lost.

He said that while the government focused on the wider picture, he recognised that it had not yet focused on more personal issues, including “injustices” people suffered during the past 25 years. Asked to provide examples, he mentioned people who were skipped over for promotion in favour of others, who were accommodated through calls for applications being held in abeyance.

Dr Muscat defended the appointments the new government has made: the only self-criticism he conceded was that the government was not assertive enough in defending its choices. He said that the appointments included an “unprecedented” number of people who were not linked to the party in government.

He recalled that when Malta was placed under excessive procedures, journalists appeared to be more preoccupied with appointments he had made, although he added that he recognised their interest in the issue as a former journalist.