Last week was marked by the swearing in ceremony of the 78 members who will serve on the 16 administrative committees set up in 16 communities around Malta and Gozo. These administrative committees are the result of the wide consultation process that led to the local councils’ reform.

The need for these administrative committees has been questioned from some quarters. But then so was the need for local councils. Today local councils are a functioning reality accepted and supported by most individuals and entities across the social sphere. I am confident that, in years to come, so will administrative committees.

Government believes that administrative committees are an important tool that will help strengthen local democracy and affirm the principles of subsidiarity, solidarity and sustainability. Administrative committees will ensure, more than before, that decisions are taken at the nearest level possible to the residents.

The same quarters that did not believe in local councils are now saying that administrative councils are just a futile exercise in fragmentation. They said the same thing about local councils but this argument does not hold. In Malta we have a local council for every 5,000 residents and this is comparable with the average in the European Union. Besides, as already mentioned, government strongly believes that decisions are best taken at the lowest level possible and the setting up of administrative committees will go a long way towards achieving this.

A number of elected committee members have already experienced the local decision making process while serving as local councillors. For others this will be unchartered territory. My advice to both experienced and inexperienced members is to be cautious and understand that this is a learning process for all.

During the coming months elected members will experience success and failure. Even in times of success, they may experience ingratitude. As every one familiar with the national and local decision making process knows, no matter how good the idea, it will always encounter a degree of opposition.

Unfortunately, it will be the people who oppose who will make most noise. But committee members should not be disheartened by this. Negative reactions are part and parcel of politics and it will be impossible to please everyone all the time. The most important thing is that all administrative committee members keep the interest of their community at the top of the agenda and work according to their conscience.

We are fully aware that, as a new concept and with, in many cases, new people, there will be teething problems. As in the case of local councils, administrative committees are a dynamic concept that will have to adapt to the times and to different circumstances. Government will not leave these committees and their members to fend for themselves. The Department of Local Government will be assisting the committees through an official who will have the responsibility of assisting executive secretaries and administrative committees, giving them direction, and helping them surmount the problems that will eventually crop up.

We want administrative councils to be a success. Furthermore, we want administrative councils to make a tangible difference in their communities. To achieve this, the Department of Local Government will be there to lend a hand whenever this is needed.

Making a difference brings me to another misconception that should be discarded once and for all. Sceptics frequently opine that these administrative committees are simply insignificant meetings of individuals who have no say or power to make change. According to this mistaken belief, the real power to decide will still rest with the local council

This cannot be further from the truth. As long as the decisions of the administrative committees are not illegal these cannot be overruled by the local council of the respective locality. A proportion of the local council’s budget will be passed on to the administrative committee and the committee alone will be responsible for how and where this is invested.

Administrative committees will also have the faculty to apply for EU funds under the various programmes of the EU, and for special schemes regularly initiated by the Department for Local Government. The responsibility of the choice of programmes, schemes and projects will lie solely with administrative committees.

Administrative committee members are, to all effects and purposes, direct representatives of their community’s residents. They are the people who will speak for their residents and work to make their life better. Until now these communities, for different reasons, have experienced a feeling of being left out.

It is now the responsibility of administrative committee members to change all this. I am confident that, as in the case of local councillors, administrative committee members will be doing their best for their community and thus contributing not just to the amelioration of the community itself but towards the betterment of the whole country.

Chris Said is parliamentary secretary in the OPM