PN accuses Prime Minister of refusing to provide information in parliament during question time

Tuesday, 3 March 2015, 19:10 Last update: about 10 years ago

Contrary to its promise of being open and transparent, this government is repeatedly failing to provide information to Parliament when requested to do so, the Nationalist Party charged this evening.

In a statement, the PN said the Prime Minister refused to divulge the names of persons selected by government to sit on selection boards for promotions and appointments in public entities. In a reply given to parliamentary question 14468 yesterday evening, the Prime Minister had informed the House that these names were forwarded to the Public Service Commission which in turn approved them.

PN deputy leader Mario de Marco

Pressed by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition Dr Mario de Marco to publish these names by means of parliamentary question number 14768, the Prime Minister yesterday replied that this list will not be made public.

The PN said this government was elected two years ago on a platform of transparency, meritocracy and good governance. In the interest of these very same principles, government should have no qualms in publishing these names in the same way that government publishes the names of judges, magistrates, members of the General Contracts Committee, members of Planning Boards and other persons selected to sit on government boards.

Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino

The PN said the Ombudsman has gone on record stating that there can be no real accountability without transparency yet this government is persisting in its strategy of keeping information under wraps. The House of Representatives is the highest institution of the country. It is there to keep a check on government and should be assisted and not hindered by government in carrying out this important duty. By repeatedly failing to provide Parliament with information, government is impeding the representatives of the people to carry out their role effectively.

The Opposition called on the Prime Minster to desist from this attitude and to publish the information that is being requested starting from the list of names of persons as approved by the Public Service Commission.