New EU-funded projects target shortcomings in public administration

The quality of public services will be strengthened through sixteen new projects co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds Aaron Farrugia announced today.

The projects, which have a total value of €15 million, will strengthen the role and the capacity of the public administration, improve the efficiency of the public service delivery, and better the utilisation of public resources.

Training will be given to over 4,500 working in the public administration, NGOs, and social partners.

The pertinence of the projects lies in the fact that, according to Farrugia, the quality of public services impacts a country's level of productivity – and subsequently its prosperity. 

Simplifying regulation and supporting capacity building for NGOs and social partners will also fall under the scope of the projects. 

The ESF provides support in areas employability, education, and inclusion – as well as the implementation of national policy reforms. 

For this reason, the ESF programme in Malta has allocated €11 million for what the parliamentary secretary referred to as "priority areas". 

The projects will also provide training opportunities for public administration workers. “This training will be carried out in areas relating to infrastructural development, government reforms in standards in healthcare, auditing, planning and e-government, and also in specialized fields such as statistics, culture and the arts," Farrugia said.