Justice Minister Owen Bonnici yesterday claimed that when the Bonello Commission had called on the Opposition to give its proposals on a holistic justice reform the PN had refused to give its contribution.

Dr Bonnici said PN Deputy Leader Beppe Fenech Adami had told the commission that the PN was reserving its right to give its proposals at a later stage. Despite this, the government was still inviting the Opposition to come up with good proposals, Dr Bonnici said.

The Justice Minister gave a summary of the recent improvements to the court administration. He recalled how queues outside the law courts used to stretch to St John’s Co-Cathedral. Things had changed drastically and those scenes had become a thing of the past. The case clearance rates had increased and the backlogs were slashed. The changes came about after the government consulted with the judiciary and the lawyers so no one could accuse the government of failing to consult.

Replying to criticism by PN MP Jason Azzopardi, Dr Bonnici said Magistrate Carol Peralta had resigned without warning. While he might have said he was fed up with the job, he had never declared that he would be resigning. Lawyer Donatello Frendo Dimech will be appointed magistrate to replace him later on this week.

The government had brought about a revolution in drug laws, he said. The new law aimed victims of drug abuse but also stepped up the fight against trafficking.

On local councils, Dr Bonnici said the sector was not perfect but it had certainly improved. The transition from the old system to the Local Enforcement System Agency had been seamless, he said.

Dr Bonnici said he made it clear from the start that the new system should not be a means to increase public sector employees. He said he believed in the principle that the private sector was the country’s future, even when it came to local enforcement. Work should be carried out by the private sector but this should be regulated. He defended the appointment of former acting police commissioner Ray Zammit who, he said, had managed Malta’s traffic for many years. He said it was not true that the government promised to employ local wardens with the public sector, insisting that he had studied the PL’s electoral manifesto and found no such proposal.

Culture

Turning to the Culture sector, Dr Bonnici said it was true that the PN administration had applied for the restoration of Fort St Angelo and Fort St Elmo but asked why the works had only commenced during the final year of that legislature.

Local councils

Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government Stefan Buontempo said the PN had left Local Councils €21 million in debt collectively during the past legislature. The previous administration had ruined councils through Public-private partnership roadworks. “You keep saying that you gave birth to local councils but you actually destroyed them, brought them to their knees.”

He said a number of white elephant projects had started under the PN only for local councils to then realise they did not have enough funds to finish them. The PL, he said, had turned things round. It had helped councils reduce their debts and had also increased their financial allocations.

Dr Buontempo claimed that the PN was against local council projects. Addressing PN MP David Agius, who constantly shouted from the other side of the chamber, Dr Buontempo said the PN was constantly nagging about the Café Premier deal but the fact was that it had promised new premises to the Valletta Local but failed to honour that promise.

The Parliamentary Secretary said the PL had, in two and a half years, managed to do things the PN had ignored for 25 years, including giving the vote to 16-year-olds.

Speaking on the Local Enforcement System Agency, Dr Buontempo said wardens will be giving their services 24 hours a day instead of working office hours. They will also be more proactive and report broken traffic signs or faded road markings. They will also have an educational role.

The south

Government MP Silvio Parnis said the PN administrations had spoken no end about how they would revamp the Paola main square. This government, he said, had actually allocated funds for the project.

He said the Consultative Council for the South was acting as a voice for local councils and the government was listening to it and acting on its proposals.

The Council was working on a study that would lead to a masterplan for Paola, Fgura and Tarxien. It would also be analysing the effects of a number of government projects in the area that are aimed at boosting commercial and social activities.