NEWS | Wednesday, 29 August 2007

Questions linger on Sant’s proposal for MCESD

Bianca Caruana

The proposal made by the Labour party leader, Alfred Sant, to allow the chairperson for the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) to sit for cabinet meetings seems to have raised many questions and confusion for some people. Labour party general secretary Jason Micallef was reported as saying that the Chairperson would not be made a minister but just be given the right to attend Cabinet meetings in connection to the council’s business.
Sonny Portelli, the chairperson for MCESD, said the proposal made by the leader of the labour party was “very valid but has to be studied properly and discussed with everyone involved. One also needs to see how this proposal can work in the institutional context of this country. The constitution does not allow Ministers who are not members of the chamber room to sit for meetings, however Sant did not say the chairperson has to be made a Minister but rather something else.”
Portelli said that the initiative made by Sant is something positive as goes ttowards giving more importance to MCESD.
“The Government needs to listen to all proposals made by everyone. However, at the end of it all someone needs to decide and this has to be done by the government,” he said.
Edward Scicluna, ex-chairperson of MCESD and economist, said the power of MCESD comes from two things.
“The first is from the resources of this institution, including calibre, the qualifications of the chairperson himself. The second is how much importance is given by the Government to this same institution in the consultations, which occur before the actualisation of economical and social politics with the use of new laws or regulations.
“By raising the status of the chairperson to minister, one of the primary resources as an institution would be strengthened. In places such as France and Tunisia, two countries I am involved with, treat their chairpersons as though they were ministers, and they are very often ex-ministers themselves.”
He also added that the chairperson must have the right and ease to consult with the Prime Minister on a regular basis.
When asked about the section of the proposal referring to the role of the chairperson in the cabinet, Scicluna said, “For this delicate section of the proposal to work and be faithfully kept by the social partners in their chairperson, as proposed to the Prime Minister for appointment, the chairperson must have roles different to the other ministers of the cabinet.
“I think his or her job should be to follow the cabinet discussions, clearly present the proposals of the council, answer some questions, bid farewell to everyone and leave. He definitely should not remain throughout the decision-making. It is the Government that must make the final decision.
“If the chairperson were to participate in this decision, he would become part of the Government and not part of the civil society. It would prove rather difficult to remain part of civil society because anything passed through the Cabinet cannot be broadcasted,” Scicluna emphasised.
He continued to say that every proposal made to strengthen this institution should be taken seriously.
Professor Godfrey Baldacchino, Director of Centre of Work Study of the University of Malta who is currently working in Canada, explained that the different proposals being made, particularly by the social partners, about the MCESD prove that the current structure is not considered satisfactory.
“The Government, to a certain extent, has no reason to be present in the MCESD, but can consider it as an individual body which the Government must however hold in high regard. This regard will be built if and when the Council carries out the work with responsibility and preferably humanity,” Baldacchino said.
“But as a constitutional and not elected council, the head executive of a council cannot have equal designation as that of a minister. At the end of it all, in a democracy, the responsibility is carried out by the elective body who answers to the people.”
Regarding the proposal made by the leader of the Labour party, Baldacchino said, “That the social partners represented by the MCESD have a say of their own at the level of Cabinet, is in itself a positive measure thought to strengthen the status and role of the MCESD.”
On the same matter, Martin Galea, the president of the F.O.I. said, “I believe the issue of whether the chairman sits on the Cabinet is not key to his role, more so I believe, is the ability to ensure a good level of discussion among the social partners who form part of the MCESD as well as the ability to get consensus on issues where this is needed.
“Often the issues tackled are complex and require deep economic analysis. Each issue is to be properly understood if proper recommendations are to come out of this Council which is useful to the Government which uses the Council as a sounding board its proposals and as a think tank for new ideas. The new chairman has made a good start in this which augers well for the future but the economic unit still needs to be built up.”
Joe Farrugia, Director General of Malta Employers Association, said, “The Malta Employers’ Association has noted that Dr. Alfred Sant wants a better functioning MCESD without any radical changes in its set up. This is what the MEA has been advocating during the discussions about the MCESD reform. His proposal to bestow on the Chairperson the ranking of a Minister needs to be assessed on the basis of how it affects MCESD’s function as a consultative body, which MEA believes is the fundamental role of MCESD.
“However, one must bear in mind that presently, the MCESD chairperson already has a direct reporting relationship to the Prime Minster, and he can be called to sit for cabinet meetings.”
Questions still seem to need answers according to Farrugia such as what the chairperson will have the ‘power’ to do and will he or she be allowed to vote during these cabinet meetings?
Farrugia continued, “Giving the MCESD chairperson a higher profile, both in terms of media exposure and also in terms of influence in cabinet decisions can be a positive step as long as MCESD remains totally detached from the political arena and that its role as a consultative body is retained.”

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