Mallia wants to 'eradicate' political injustice inside civil service

Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia has said he wants the government to eradicate "all forms of injustice" in the public sector and do away with "politically-motivated" or "unjust" appointments.

Addressing a public consultation meeting in Kirkop this evening, the minister said the Army Grievances Board had received 381 complaints over a two-month period.

Chaired by retired Brigadier Maurice Calleja - formerly commander of the AFM until his resignation in 1994 when his son Meinrad Calleja was charged on drug trafficking offences - the Board has so far investigated 213 injustice complaints.

"Out of these 213 investigations, several cases were found to have been genuine while some grievances were politically related.

"This government does not want any injustices and does not want any appointments to be politically-motivated. This government is committed to act and eradicate injstice," Mallia insisted.

Mallia this evening also hinted at the setting-up of regional police stations.

"It is useless to have a police station manned by one police officer or a police station which is not open 24 hours. In an effort at ensuring that the police service is efficient, the ministry is considering the establishment of regional police stations.

"These will house over 100 police officers and will be allocated the necessary means and vehicles to oversee the surrounding locations. In such small villages [Kirkop] having one police officer at a police station is not enough, and through the set-up of these regional stations, efficiency will improve," Mallia said.

He bemoaned the "disastrous" situation the government inherited inside the civil protection department, and announced that around 40 new officers are expected to be appointed within the CPD and that the government will address the condition of the CPD's vehicles. 

Turning his attention to prison reform, the minister said the government had instilled a sense of discipline that was in "dire need of, under the previous administrations."

"Alongside prisoners, prison staff will also be tested for drugs while police will conduct searches on anyone, irrespective of whether the visitor is an ambassador, a minister or a common civilian. Random checks will also be carried out," he underlined.

A tourism police unit will be tasked with overseeing touristic areas such as Sliema and St Julian's. The unit will be formed by around 25 police officers and will be responsible with patrolling surrounding areas. Deployed officers will increase at the Sliema and St Julian's police stations and members of the Rapid Intervention Unit will have a stronger presence around Paceville.

On the issue of electronic ID cards, soon to be finally rolled out, Mallia said the situation had been nothing short of "disastrous".

"The government had already paid €7.7 million to a contractor, but the plan never materialised, despite the PN's promises that they would be completed by February 2013. Due to these shortcomings, Malta risked losing €8 million in EU funds," he added.