Anti-bureaucracy commissioner to be appointed shortly

The new Labour government will appoint a bureaucracy commissioner shortly, the economy minister Chris Cardona said today.

During a meeting with the General Workers Union in Valletta this morning, Cardona said that the government would start implementing its economic programme and one of the first steps would be that of appointing a commissioner to investigate complaints and reduce bureaucracy by 25%.

The minister for the economy, investment and small business said: "The time has come to go beyond consultation between the government and social partners, now we will directly involve the General Workers Union, together with all other stakeholders in the implementation of the plan which we all agreed upon."

He underlined the government's determination to reduce bureaucracy by 25% and announced that in the next few days the government would be appointing a commissioner who will oversee the reform.

In reaction to the GWU boss Tony Zarb's call to strengthen the manufacturing industry, Cardona said: "Unlike other politicians we believe in the manufacturing sector and we are convinced that the sector can expand however we must ensure that the investments are sustainable."

The country must be more welcoming and cater for the needs of the demanding industry , Cardona added.

On his part the union's secretary-general Tony Zarb underlined the GWU's commitment to attract foreign investment, noting that "in the past, the previous government did not show any will to cooperate with the union and bureaucracy was an obstacle to foreign direct investment in the past few years."

Zarb also said that together with bureaucracy, the electricity bills were the greatest obstacles in attracting investment.

Cardona pointed out that the energy plan was the Labour government priority and said that an international expression of interest would be issued in April.

The minister also stressed the importance of introducing other measures such as child care facilities, improving the one-stop-shop at Malta Enterprise and introduce a charter of workers' rights.

"We might not always agree with each other, but our door is always open for the General Workers Union to work together for our common aim of creating and improving jobs in Malta," Cardona said.

The union has always enjoyed a close relationship with the Labour Party and two were statutorily fused between 1978 and 1992, with the union having a seat on Labour Cabinet of Ministers in the seventies and eighties.