[WATCH] New local enforcement agency ‘eradicates subsidiarity’ – PN

Opposition presents motion to revoke Legal Notice 153 setting up an agency responsible of the local enforcement across Malta and Gozo • Government insists agency will ensure law enforcement no longer remains a 'ticket issuing machine' 

Opposition whip David Agius, deputy leader Mario de Marco and shadow democracy minister Jason Azzopardi present the motion to Speaker Anglu Farrugia
Opposition whip David Agius, deputy leader Mario de Marco and shadow democracy minister Jason Azzopardi present the motion to Speaker Anglu Farrugia

An agency set up by the government to manage the local enforcement system goes against the principle of subsidiarity and continues to undermine the responsibility and trust that should be held by local councils, the Nationalist Party said today.

Opposition whip David Agius, deputy leader Mario de Marco and shadow democracy minister Jason Azzopardi presented a motion to Speaker Anglu Farrugia calling for the repeal of Legal Notice 153, a legal notice that allows the setting up of the agency.

The legal notice also allows the minister responsible for local councils to appoint the chair of the agency without any prior consultation, the PN said. The government has appointed Ray Zammit, former acting police commissioner.

"This legal notice was tabled without any consultation and reduces the subsidiarity that should be enjoyed by local councils. Instead of giving more powers to the local councils and the people, the power is being placed in the hands of a government agency," Agius said.

He also said that the government had proceeded with its plans without consulting the Opposition. According to Agius, junior minister Jose Herrera - formerly responsible for local councils - used to keep the Opposition abreast of the plans. Things changed following a Cabinet reshuffle.

However, the government retorted that it had decided to set up this agency following consultation on a White Paper.

“The agency will maximise the sparse resources and ensure that the system no longer remains a ticket issuing machine,” the government said in a statement. “The agency will provide a long-needed change in the law enforcement sector, by introducing more justice and sensibility.”

They added that it will help the five regional committees to fulfill their true function of acting as the middle ground between the government and local councils. 

A reform of the local enforcement system has long been in the pipeline, with the demand increasing as more abuses were reported. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had dubbed the 14-year-old system "a subsidised racket".

Last year, the government had insisted that "a fairer and more transparent" system - effectively nationalizing it - would reduce costs by 20% and become more efficient in collecting some €18 million in unpaid fines. 

The key change is granting the current management committee that runs the local enforcement system the power to create a centralised unit to enforce the laws delegated to the five regional committees. It takes on the administration of local wardens, from the private companies currently providing the manpower for the local councils.

The shadow democracy minister insisted that the enforcement of law "should not be arbitrary". 

Instead of having the local councils themselves deciding where and when wardens should be present, it will now be up to the government agency to take such decisions.

"This includes a high element of subjectivity and arbitrariness. Moreover, the chairman of the agency, nominated by the minister, will be the one to decide whether to have enforcement or not in certain zones. We are against subjective decisions," Azzopardi said.

De Marco, who said the PN had its reservations on Zammit's appointment, said the crux of the issue remained the principle of subsidiarity, which is "sacrosanct to the PN".

"We either deem the local councils a success story or we want to continue diminishing their powers. Although we might have our own reservations behind [Zammit's] appointment, the issue is not the person but the agency. We are against it because certain powers should be closer to the citizens. Instead, we are taking it from the local councils and placing it back in the hands of the central governemnt."