'EU country report an endorsement of government's policies,' Schembri says

Last week's individual country report by the European Union had been particularly positive in the case of Malta and an endorsement of the government's policies and decisions, the parliamentary secretary for lands said on Friday.

Deborah Schembri, who was addressing a press conference at Castille, said that the report on administration and reduction in bureaucracy in Malta had confirmed the government's policies were proving beneficial to consumers and businesses. 

She acknowledged the report had pointed out a number of areas that the government should focus on, and said the government had already started tackling many of these shortcomings. 

"I welcome the work and effort of each ministry towards attaining such results and international recognition," she said. 

Anthony Agius Decelis, commissioner for simplification and reduction of bureaucracy, said that the report highlighted the economic gains registered by Malta, the reduction in number of people registering for work and the administration's efforts to decrease bureaucracy. 

"Malta's efforts to simplify procedures were acknowledged in the report," he said. "The report placed Malta amongst the top EU members offering enhanced e-government services."

Agius Decelis said that the process for setting up a business had been complimented by the removal of operators trade licenses. 

In 2017, the last phase of the reform would see all services and operational needs of business being offered electronically. 

The report had welcomed the decision to separate the Planning Authority and the Environment Resources Authority, he noted. 

Mario Cutajar, principal permanent secretary, said that the report was a certificate of performance for the public service. 

"The fact that the process for setting up a business was highlighted by the report as proof that the government’s policies are working and that our commitment to such a key programme initiative was justified," he said. 

Cutajar said that businesses would no longer have to wait months for the provision if services, since under new procedures being introduced, this waiting time would now be no longer than 10 days. 

He said the administration had delivered on its promise to reduce bureaucracy in the public sector. 

"This month, we will be launching a first batch of mobile apps offering e-government services," he said. "The one-stop shop system we introduced was built around the customer, who no longer needs to chase various departments to get served."

Cutajar said that 1,200 printable forms had been replaced by online electronic forms, further facilitating the client's experience. 

He said that on-site inspections had been curtailed, to save costs and time on the 75,000 inspections carried out each year thus far. 

Government contracts now took 108 days to complete on average, instead of the 298-day average in 2013.