[WATCH] Most serving persons of trust 'not necessarily competent', PN says

Most serving persons of trust 'not necessarily competent', PN says

Most of the persons serving in government positions of trust "are not necessarily competent" and a better utilisation of civil servanta was warranted, the Nationalist Party said today.

In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, PN MP Karol Aquilina said that technical people should be given the same opportunity granted to cvil servants when it came to selecting persons of trust.

"The recent Public Administration Act gives further strength to government when appointing people to positions of power," he said.

PN MEP candidate Peter Agius said that certain EU countries like Sweden were selecting competent persons for job shadowing at an EU level, and said Malta should adopt a similar approach.

"Malta has 210 working groups and ministers' councils. We have 80 permanent groups that inform the EU Commission. We have to make sure that the people that form these groups are competent," Agius said.

The PN, he said, was recommending that all civil servants currenly representing Malta on a European level and those wishing to do so in the future undergo 12 days of training to better prepare them for their responsibilities.

"These should have a wide cultural knowledge and be versed in current affairs. They should also possess a number of soft skills," Agius said, adding that persons of trust should not get a representative role as a permanent fixture unless in a situation of emergency.

He said that there were many civil servants who had invested a lot of time in their roles, studies and work to merit representation.

Persons chosen to represent Malta should be subject to criteria that are, in turn, subject to public scrutiny, especially in the case of important positions related to commerce, culture, defence, and agriculture, Agius said.

Aquilina said that the proposals the PN was putting forward would not require a lot of funding. On the other hand, regular meetings for the exchange of ideas between officials, MEPs and civil servants were a very basic requirement.