A week of celebrations marking the 15th anniversary of the setting up of local councils was held last week, ending with a confirmation by the Prime Minister that the councils’ term of office will be extended from the current three years. He did not say by how much.

The extension is, after all, one point which both major political parties have agreed with, as the Labour Party, a few days before the celebrations began, issued a position paper in which it said that it was in favour of such an extension.

The local councils reform was one of a number that were launched by the government soon after taking office in March.

A consultation process started in June with parliamentary secretary Chris Said, who was entrusted with the reform, visiting all local councils and meeting all other stakeholders to find out how they could become more efficient. Public meetings were also held during the summer and the people could also pass on their suggestion via the internet.

In total, some 7,800 suggestions were made, 4,200 coming directly from private individuals. This in itself is encouraging, as it shows that the people do have an interest in what goes on in their locality.

All in all, no stone was left unturned to utilise the experience gathered in these first 15 years to fine-tune the mechanisms as well as redefine the role of local councils in the hope that they will gain in relevance and be of better service to their community.

But, as is unfortunately quite the norm, deadlines set by the government are not met. The original intentions were to present the planned reform to coincide with the 15th anniversary celebrations, but these have come and gone and all we got were some hints of what the suggestions were, not the full picture.

In comments given to the media in summer, Dr Said had said that the government will decide by November, but last Saturday he said that the government is still evaluating the suggestions that were put forward. It is hoped that the matter will be sped up to at least meet the target of having the bill debated in Parliament when it resumes after the Christmas holidays.

It must be remembered that the next round of local council elections will be in the first half of March next year, although in all likelihood the local elections will be postponed to June to coincide with those for the European Parliament, as was the case in 2004. Yet, although this scenario gives the government some time to play with, it should not delay the changing of the Local Councils Act. The amendments must be passed in Parliament before the next elections are due so as to complete the reform – or renewal, as Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has described the changes.

Some of the suggestions that Dr Said mentioned last Saturday were ideas that this newspaper has been putting forward for quite some time. Apart from extending the term of office – which is something that everyone seems to agree with – it was suggested that mayors should not hold on to their office for more than two terms, while councillors should also receive some form of remuneration for the services they offer.

Other suggestions that were received concern mostly the way local council elections are held, such as the use of an ID card (not a voting document) to allow residents to vote and an idea to have the votes counted in the locality where the election was held.

Whether these, and other, suggestions will be accepted by the government and presented in the bill to amend the law remains to be seen. It is hoped that the amendments will not just be cosmetic changes, but a comprehensive exercise to make local councils more accountable.A week of celebrations marking the 15th anniversary of the setting up of local councils was held last week, ending with a confirmation by the Prime Minister that the councils’ term of office will be extended from the current three years. He did not say by how much.

The extension is, after all, one point which both major political parties have agreed with, as the Labour Party, a few days before the celebrations began, issued a position paper in which it said that it was in favour of such an extension.

The local councils reform was one of a number that were launched by the government soon after taking office in March.

A consultation process started in June with parliamentary secretary Chris Said, who was entrusted with the reform, visiting all local councils and meeting all other stakeholders to find out how they could become more efficient. Public meetings were also held during the summer and the people could also pass on their suggestion via the internet.

In total, some 7,800 suggestions were made, 4,200 coming directly from private individuals. This in itself is encouraging, as it shows that the people do have an interest in what goes on in their locality.

All in all, no stone was left unturned to utilise the experience gathered in these first 15 years to fine-tune the mechanisms as well as redefine the role of local councils in the hope that they will gain in relevance and be of better service to their community.

But, as is unfortunately quite the norm, deadlines set by the government are not met. The original intentions were to present the planned reform to coincide with the 15th anniversary celebrations, but these have come and gone and all we got were some hints of what the suggestions were, not the full picture.

In comments given to the media in summer, Dr Said had said that the government will decide by November, but last Saturday he said that the government is still evaluating the suggestions that were put forward. It is hoped that the matter will be sped up to at least meet the target of having the bill debated in Parliament when it resumes after the Christmas holidays.

It must be remembered that the next round of local council elections will be in the first half of March next year, although in all likelihood the local elections will be postponed to June to coincide with those for the European Parliament, as was the case in 2004. Yet, although this scenario gives the government some time to play with, it should not delay the changing of the Local Councils Act. The amendments must be passed in Parliament before the next elections are due so as to complete the reform – or renewal, as Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has described the changes.

Some of the suggestions that Dr Said mentioned last Saturday were ideas that this newspaper has been putting forward for quite some time. Apart from extending the term of office – which is something that everyone seems to agree with – it was suggested that mayors should not hold on to their office for more than two terms, while councillors should also receive some form of remuneration for the services they offer.

Other suggestions that were received concern mostly the way local council elections are held, such as the use of an ID card (not a voting document) to allow residents to vote and an idea to have the votes counted in the locality where the election was held.

Whether these, and other, suggestions will be accepted by the government and presented in the bill to amend the law remains to be seen. It is hoped that the amendments will not just be cosmetic changes, but a comprehensive exercise to make local councils more accountable.