Local councils must carry out their work with a sense of excellence, but so does the local council division, Justice and Local Government Minister Owen Bonnici said during a visit to this same division on Thursday.

Visiting the newly restructured division, which up until recently was classified as a directorate as opposed to a division, Bonnici spoke of the importance of having a well-oiled machine in the division which can complement and aid local councils across the country in their work and in taking opportunities that may come their way.

Bonnici noted that the division also works as something of a “referee” sometimes, and cited an example of when it had to step in to take a decision on the St. Paul’s Bay council which was in favour of the majority of residents.

Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government and Communities Silvio Parnis said that while it was positive to see physical improvements to the division’s premises in Valletta, the most important thing is that it has a workforce which is committed to improving and strengthening the state of local councils.

Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar said that the reforms and restructuring in the division has been ongoing for the past two years and that they follow what is being done elsewhere in the public sector.  He said that the division would not be taking more control, but would be acting to help councils sustain their work. 

The President of the Local Council’s Association Mario Fava meanwhile said that the association believed that the division needs to be well equipped to offer superior service to citizens and to continue with the reformation process.