The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has advised Malta that it should ban backbench MPs from having government jobs.

The global watchdog on Friday released a 227 page report, titled Public Integrity in 'Malta: Improving the Integrity and Transparency Framework for Elected and Appointed Officials, 2023', which gave the country a number of recommendations on how to improve standards in public life.

The OECD said that the Standards Act, as well as the associated Codes of Ethics is currently "silent" regarding the issue of incompatibilities of secondary employment for elected officials.

"This is particularly problematic, given the practice in Malta to appoint backbencher MPs to positions in government departments, boards and commissions. Elected officials - whether within a parliamentary or presidential system - play a critical accountability role over the actions of the executive," the report said.

The OECD continued that it is their duty to hold the executive accountable for how public money is spent and public policies determined.

It said that the practice of placing elected officials in the executive fundamentally undermines the accountability role of Parliament.

The OECD said that the Justice Ministry should consider amending the constitution to prohibit this practice. Former Standards Commissioner George Hyzler had long insisted on the ban, citing blatant conflict of interest.

The report also recommends closing loopholes when it comes to defining which persons of trust fall under the remit of Standards Commissioner, and which do not.

OECD policy analyst Carissa Munro said that the Commissioner's scope should be expanded to cover local authorities, as well as directors of government organisations and enterprises.

Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi spoke positively about this proposal, saying that his office should be able to investigate public officials in key roles.

The OECD also highlighted several shortcomings in the code of ethics for MPs, which has not been updated since the 1990s, including the lack of standards to address some of the key risk areas for corruption and misconduct.

The report said that the updated code of ethics should include clear provisions on how to engage with lobbyists and third parties, on how to manage and prevent conflicts of interests, as well as restrictions on certain employment after leaving public life.

It also recommended that Malta could also adopt cooling-off periods for elected officials and appointed officials in at-risk positions, as well as a code of conduct for lobbyists.

The recommendation echoes calls for lobbying regulations previously made by ex-commissioner Hyzler as well as the public inquiry into Daphne Caruana Galizia's October 2017 assassination.

The report said that improvements should similarly be made to the system of asset and interest declarations, expanding these declarations to include persons of trust.

It recommended that the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life and its office should operate in a way that is above reproach, to provide credible integrity leadership.

The report recommended that the scope of the Standards in Public Life Act could be expanded to cover local authorities, members of the boards of Directors of public organisations and enterprises, reiterating that the legal framework could also address the incompatibilities of secondary employment for elected officials.

"To ease implementation, Malta could also clarify definitions in the Act, including 'persons of trust' and 'misconduct', and add new definitions on 'abuse of power and privileges', 'conflict of interest', and 'gifts' to create a common understanding of expected conduct and behaviour," the report recommended.

It said that there are still some remaining weaknesses concerning the independence of the Commissioner and necessary scope of responsibility to carry out his functions.

"The process of appointment, role and functions of the Commissioner could be included in the Constitution of Malta to ensure the stability of the public integrity system," it said.

It recommended that to strengthen the independence of the Committee for Standards in Public Life, Malta could consider including lay members into the Committee, outlining the basic requirements for members of the Committee, and setting clear, transparent appointment procedures to ensure the right people are selected.

Moreover, the report recommended that declarations of assets and interests should be submitted directly to the Commissioner and provide the Commissioner with the necessary tools to access and verify relevant information.

"The Commissioner could also establish a system of electronic submission and develop a risk-based methodology for the review of declarations," the OECD said.

The OECD said that Malta currently lacks the necessary guardrails to ensure that lobbying practices are transparent and conducted with integrity.

To improve on this, the OECD said that the Commissioner has prepared a consultation paper with proposals to regulate lobbying, including through two complementary registers: an online open "Register for Lobbyists" and a "Transparency Register" with disclosure obligations for public officials - both managed by the Commissioner, the proposals of which are in line with international best practices, it said.