Ombudsman appoints commissioners but his own replacement remains a bone of political contention

Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud’s replacement remains a bone of political contention but this has not stopped him from appointing commissioners within his office.

Mifsud appointed Prof. Raymond Galea as the new health commissioner after Charles Messina’s two five-year terms expired.

Mifsud also re-appointed architect Alan Saliba as commissioner for environment and planning and retained former chief justice Vincent De Gaetano as commissioner for education. This will be the second five-year term for the two commissioners.

Commissioners, like the Ombudsman, are autonomous officers of parliament and enjoy the same independence and security of tenure. Commissioners work independently but coordinate their work with the Office of the Ombudsman. They are appointed by the Ombudsman.

Mifsud’s term ended in March last year but has remained in office because there has not been political consensus on his replacement. The Ombudsman is appointed by parliament with a two-thirds majority vote, which means cross-party support is necessary.

Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition leader Bernard Grech have so far been unable to agree on a name and no substantive talks have been held since last March’s election.

Grech has repeatedly called on the Prime Minister for discussions to be held on several constitutional appointments, including the Ombudsman and the Standards Commissioner.

The term of Standards Commissioner George Hyzler ends at the end of September since he will be taking up his post at the European Court of Auditors.

READ ALSO: Anthony Mifsud | President should choose Ombudsman when parliament fails to reach consensus

Who is Raymond Galea?

The new health commissioner, Raymond Galea, worked as a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Mater Dei Hospital since 2000 and, since 2012, was appointed head of the Malta Postgraduate Medical Training Programme. He was also a visiting professor on the Academic Board of the International Ph.D. in Clinical Sciences at the University of Florence.

The five-year appointments for the commissioners start from today. In a statement, Mifsud thanked outgoing health commissioner Charles Messina for his “dedicated and sterling work” over the past 10 years.