Before the 1996 and 2003 elections, the Nationalist government had spoken about a law on public administration to give the impression that the public service was to be reformed. Now that an election is approaching, the PN has resorted to the same tactic, MLP spokesman on public administration Helena Dalli said in a statement yesterday.

The government says that one of the most important aspects of the bill is that the Constitution does not mention government agencies and entities, and therefore the ministry’s involvement in them is not specified. This is not true, she said, because the entities are set up by the Cabinet and are the responsibility of the ministries concerned, she said.

Proof that ministers involve themselves in such entities is that the Urban Development and Roads Minister recently blocked the dismissal of two employees from the Public Transport Authority, Ms Dalli added. The bill talked about a Merit Commission, which would form part of the Public Service Commission. If, in practice, the government had reduced the PSC’s resources, how could one now believe the government when it said that the PSC will function better when its responsibilities are increased?