Labour proposes electing member of the public on public entities

Labour leader Joseph Muscat has proposed to elect a member of the public on government entities and regulators' boards. The citizen, who should hold "good track record", would be elected online.

Though it remains vague as the proposal will actually work and which are the identified entities and regulators, Muscat said it would be a pilot project for those entities which directly hit the consumers.

Asked by MaltaToday whether this would include the election of citizens on the board that would eventually be purchasing gas under a Labour government, Muscat said: "This will be a pilot project where we also look forward to see citizens participating in various issues, including utility."

He added that there would be "nothing strange" if companies were to be open to this system.

Muscat insisted that a Labour government would work hard on open governance.

For example, Muscat proposed an online system whereby citizens could comment and give their views of various issues ranging from proposed bills to ideas for projects.

"Good governance is also related to attitude and we must be more open to the public, allowing the citizen to have has say with the proposals also discussed in parliament," he said.

Muscat added that this would all be done for the sake of accountability.

Referring to MaltaToday's revelation of kickback paid over Enemalta oil purchasing, Muscat said he had been "shocked but not surprised". He however said he was surprised that in its electoral manifesto, the Nationalist Party had failed to say it would enact a Whistleblower's Act if reelected, nothing was said about a party financing law and despite Gonzi having agreed to removing the time-barring on cases of political corruption nothing was included in the proposal.

"These three issues are a source of concern and I am shocked that they haven't been included in the PN's manifesto," he said.

Asked whether he would be relaying any proposals on Gozo, the Labour leader said that there were over 40 days left of the election and coming to Gozo didn't necessarily reflect one had to speak only on Gozo. "After all, Gozo is part of Malta," he said.