PN: Private public partnership should administer local enforcement

The Nationalist Party today presented its counter-proposals to government’s recently published white paper on local enforcement.

One of the white paper's key proposals is that of empowering the local enforcement system management committee (LEN) to create a centralised unit which would enforce laws delegated to the five regional committees, however the PN insisted that the unit should take the form of a public private partnership.

The junior minister previously esponsible for local government, Jose Herrera had explained that this would effectively transfer the administration of local wardens from the private company currently running the system to an "independent" unit. He had also insisted that the systemn "shouldn't be profit-driven."

However, in a press conference held today, Opposition MP David Agius said that the private sector should remain involved in the local warden system, although it should no longer play a central role.

“The private sector involvement should be limited, with the community’s interests outweighing other interests.” 

The opposition MP said that personal interests in the system should be reduced, “with bigger emphasis on education and the environment.”

He added that decisions on the reform should be taken by local councils and listed a number of proposals the PN drew up following a consultation process with the party's councillors.

“We are proposing that the private sector is involved in a public private partnership, composed of government, regional and private sector representatives,” Aguis said, adding that government should make a public call for private investment in the unit which would be responsible for the recruitment, training issuing wages, the administration of the system and quality control.

Furthermore, Agius explained that another key proposal put forward by the PN is that of rotating wardens in different councils to cut abuse.

The MP proposed the creation of two separate pools of wardens, one for wardens assigned to council and another pool of wardens which could be deployed in other circumstances, such as works in public spaces.

He added that a “democratically elected council” should take the decision of where wardens should be deployed, and proposed a system whereby the number of wardens assigned to councils is decided according to the size of the council. Moreover, the job specification of wardens should be decided by the councils themselves, while the income generated by fines should also go directly in the councils' coffers, Agius said.

Currently a private company, Guard & Warden Service, runs the gamut of local enforcement services, deploying wardens to the councils, monitoring CCTV systems and also processing speed camera fines.

One of the white paper's key proposals is that of empowering the local enforcement system management committee (LEN) to create a centralised unit which would enforce laws delegated to the five regional committees.

However, the white paper proposes a major change in granting the current management committee that runs the local enforcement system, the power to create a centralised unit to enforce the laws delegated to the five regional committees.

This means effectively taking on the administration of local wardens, from the private companies currently providing the manpower for the local councils.