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Updated | ‘Clean sweep’ of permanent secretaries carried out
Government replaces all permanent secretaries but three in what appears to be clean sweep across the board.
26 March 2013, 12:00am
Miriam Dalli
Miriam Dalli
2 min read
Permanent secretary Alfred Camilleri was retained by the Labour administration.
The permanent secretary within the finance ministry, Alfred Camilleri, and the permanent secretary within the education ministry, James Calleja, are the only two permanent secretaries retained by the Labour administration.
A third one, Paul Zahra was also retained but has been placed in a new ministry.
In what appears to be a "clean sweep" of permanent secretaries across the board, MaltaToday is informed that the Labour administration has accepted all but two resignation letters handed in by the permanent secretaries.
When the designate-head of the civil service Mario Cutajar invited all permanent secretaries and other government appointees to hand in their resignations, Nationalist MP Mario de Marco had lambasted this request, insisting that it went "against all standard procedures and ignoring Constitutional provisions".
"It took years of objective and reasoned management to cleanse the service of political control and influence... the 'new' Labour government has demolished all that, by playing the opening gambit in a stratagem aimed solely at creating a public service to serve his party's interests," de Marco had said.
But Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had rubbished this suggestion, insisting that it was "a normal procedure that followed after every change in government".
"This doesn't mean that every resignation letter will be accepted, but the Prime Minister can ask for it," Muscat had said when asked by journalists.
He had added that those individuals deemed to be the best to hold that position would be retained.
The new permanent secretaries include two women. The new secretaries are Paul Zahra (European Affairs); Joseph Cole (Foreign ministry); John Borg (tourism ministry); Dr James Calleja (education); Brian Montebello (environment and sustainable development); Joseph Callus (transport); Joyce Dimech (Gozo); Paulanne Mamo (economy); Mark Musu (family and social solidarity); Kevin Mahoney (home affairs); Alfred Camilleri (finance); Dr Mario Rodgers (energy); Joseph Rapa (health).
Miriam Dalli joined MaltaToday.com.mt in 2010 becoming assistant editor f...
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Sewwa għamlu li bidluhom u nemmen li jonqos ħafna u ħafna aktar nies b'karigi għolja x'jinbidlu. Il-persuni inkarigati għandhom ikunu fdati u mhux lesti jagħtuk il-gambetta hekk kif jiġi ċans. Prosit PL.
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Elena is right. Not just on Board members that were so obviously political appointments, but also the majority of CEOs' that were actually appointed ON TRUST by the authorities!!!
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Kieku kienu rgiel u serji dawn il-qabda misshom irrizenjaw minn jeddhom u mhux sfurzaw amministrazzjoni entranti li titlobhom jirrizenjaw. Kieku jien PM li ghadni kemm hadt il-poter ma rrid lil hadd jipprezumi li ghandi nitghabba bih tajjeb kemm u tajjeb. Kemm hu tajjeb ghal dak li jkun jinhtieg isir narah jien u hadd izjed ghaliex ir-responsabilita' politika mhux ta' dawn l-imkabbra imma tieghi. Facilment nista' nappunta mill-gdid imma ma rrid lil hadd imrikkeb fuqi mill-predecessuri tieghi u dan nahseb kien biss wiehed mill ftit imma predominanti hsiebijiet tal-PM Jospeh Muscat meta agixxa kif agixxa. Ghaliha ma kont sorpriz lanqas xejn u kont naghmel ezatt bhalu bid-differenza li hu zamm lil min deherlu u jien kont inzomm lil min jidhirli imma fis-sustanza ezatt l-istess agir.
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Issa hemm bzonn idduru wahda lid-Diretturi Generali. Specjalment dawk li kienu taht il-Ministeru ta' Tonio Fenech. Mhux minhabba politika biss, izda ghal mod ta' kif kienu jmexxu d-dipartiment. Il-flus li hlew f'kirjiet, il-mod ta' kif jitrattaw il-haddiema. Alla hares kont nahdem hemm jien!
Jeffrey Camilleri •
Fejn hi Malta taghna ilkoll??? dik l'ghajta kbira u li maghna jista jahdem kulhadd???? gimmicks. Il-giiddieb ghommru qasir fil-gvern!!
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@tweetybirdie: You must have been fattening your pocket too under GONZIPN to speak this way. How can you have people whom you do not trust because they had been blue-eyed boys like you for 25 years continue to undermine the will of the vast majority of the people of Malta. Yes Malta Taghna Ikoll but the Movement behind the PL must protect the interests of the people and not of the corrupt oligarchy that had infiltrated the very roots of society. The Per Secs whose resignation was accepted cannot be left in a position of power although they are resuming their substantive post before they were elevated to positions they had no justification to occupy. On the other hand, Alfred Camilleri, brother of John Camilleri, the private secretary of Eddie Fenech Adami, has been kept on as Perm Sec of Finance because he is qualified and willing to work for the people. Surely this is a good example of Malta Taghna Lkoll.
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I should say well done to the Government for this change. What about the hundreds of blue eyed boys who have been sitting on boards and authorities, practically doing nothing but fattening their pockets. This has been going on for years on end. I wonder what Dr Demarco and the pn friendly newspapers have to say in this regard.
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What about tthe Director Generals, Directos and asst Directors, do they enjoy some kind of immunity?
especially those at Valleta Floriana and B'Kara?
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iridu jinbidlu il kapijiet kolla mhux bhal ma ghamel aldred sant,u mhux jinbidlu bin nazzjonalisti li ghidu li huma protagonisti ghax ahna mhux protagonisti imma laburisti
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A government of pure Doublespeak. George Orwell would be proud!
"Tista ma taqbilx maghna, imma tista tahdem maghna" = "Min mhux maghna, kontra taghna".
*M*alta *T*aghna *L*koll = *M*alta *T*al-*L*ejber
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That's the spirit. Joseph Muscat will not repeat Alfred Sant's mistake of trusting a politically-motivated civil service. Nothing but a clean sweep of Permanent Secretararies, and now hopefully of other top structure positions in both government and other organisations, will ensure a loyal service that can implement the new Government's policies. Well done.
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..... tghid il-prim ministru muscat ma ghandux izomm segretarju permanenti li lahaq f'din il-kariga bl-akbar high jump li qatt rat id-dinja - aktar minn dik ta' sotemajor tal-kuba fl-olympics - ghax kien ghamel xi snin fis-segretarjat tal-kbir u bravu fenedh adami ..... tghid mhux hekk nibqghu ...... inhallu li c-civil jitmexxa minn persuni li ghandhom ghajnejhom blu u ghalhekk waslu fejn waslu .... aghmlulna pjacir, iddahhkunix, tridu? .... MELA ISSA INSEJNA X'KIEN QAL DAK LI GABILNA L-ARRIVA U MBAGHAD SPARIXXA? ..... ISSA POSSIBBLI LI KULHADD NESA LI KIEN QAL DARBA LI L-KAPIJIET TAC-CIVIL GHANDHOM IKUNU NAZZJONALISTI LADARBA KIEN HEMM GVERN NAZZJONALISTA? .... POSSIBBLI NSEJNIHA DIN?
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What comes round comes around Dr Demarco. what are you expecting? an apology. If you had the ears to the ground you could have accted on the abuses carried out by certain PSs not to be specific
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It took years of objective and reasoned.......nonsense Mario. Ir-risultati qeghdin quddiemek +35k.
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Whatever Mario DeMarco says, permanent secretaries were changed even when Ministers within the GONZIPN government changed portfolio. So what is he bleeping about. When Obama' second term commenced, even his Secretary of State was changed. It is absolutely common practice in all democratic states that Ministers must work and feel comfortable with their top aides. After all, permanent secretaries were created by the PN machinery to place their people there and they discriminated heavily against PL civil servants under their jurisdiction. It was only just and fair that the new PL Government did this clean sweep of questionable persons. They had been benefiting from massive salaries and performance bonuses all this time.
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Once bitten twice shy, remembering the 1996-98 period is enough to make any sane government to have second thoughts about politically appointed heads. Well done PL, these people were given a chance once and they blew it.
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Excellent
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Next.You should do the same in MEPA."CLEAN SWEEP".
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Good bye Kenneth Grech. Min jidhak l-ahhar jidhad l-ahjar!!
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People voted for a thorough change, and anything less will be an affront to those who voted for it!
Some of the local newspapers-(not Malta Today or Illum) never lifted a finger during the last 25 years- to criticize GonziP for its lack of transparency: but in less than 15 days these very newspapers have found time, energy and space to start criticizing the PL...in its 15 days of its administration! Give us a break!
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Where-as the call of resignation has been called from Perm Sec's, has the same been done to the chairpersons including CEO who were politically appointed?
By no means am I hinting that all should be excepted, that remains the prerogative of the Prime Minister but it is just logical that Govt entities are run with the same spirit as the new Govt is.
Let us not be fooled by the terms of Alfred Sant's logic, in so far that heads of depts will rise to the occassion. They may appear to do so, but deep down facts prove otherwise.
