Officials file complaint with Public Service Commission, seek legal redress over ‘vitiated’ selection process

Government officials have filed an official complaint with the Public Service Commission (PSC) and have reserved their rights at law in seeking redress against the foreign ministry for having allegedly 'vitiated' their selection process to the post of 'counsellors' within the same ministry.

The complaint, filed by professor Ian and Dr. Mark Refalo calls on the PSC to either appoint all the candidates who have sat for the examinations, or immediately postpone the appointments pending a review of the selection process.

Just two days to go before the country goes to the polls, the officials are faced with the prospect losing the opportunity for promotion within the foreign office, after every attempt to seek explanations about their pending appointments were ignored by the foreign minister, Francis Zammit Dimech, despite his 'promise' to help them out.

The officials said that they had no other option but to refer their case to the PSC because it was unfair that nobody was able to give them any information about their case, especially when it was clear that the selection board was irregular and the process vitiated.

It their submission to the PSC, the officials explained that the selection process was 'tainted' by a number of procedural irregularities, which raised serious doubts about the fairness of the whole process.

While pointing out that even the written examination was arbitrarily challenged because the procedure had been changed without notice, while also an irregularity was pointed out even in the weighting of personal interviews, oral and written excercises were not even pointed out in a convocation letter sent out across the departments for the post.

Despite their protestations with the permanent secretary and Tonio Borg, then foreign minister in 2012, the officials pointed out that they were wrongly indexed as candidates during the examination.

With only two days to go for the general election, no official or member of the foreign minister's secretariat were available for comment about this petition, as the candidates expect to be made redundant due to the inconclusive process.

When questioned by the candidates, the PSC replied that their complaint was "still under review" despite months have passed, and their case has not yet been heard.