Ġelożiji Amministrattivi

Xi ħaġa li s-sistema amministrattiva tal-gvern Malti trid toqgħod b’seba’ għajnejn għalija f’dawn is-sitt xhur fil-presidenza tal-Unjoni Ewropea, hi n-nuqqas ta’ kordinament intern bejn entijiet governattivi Maltin. Ħafna mill-proġetti Ewropej għandhom il-komplikazzjoni, li ma jaqgħux taħt struttura waħda, imma jinvolvu diversi dipartimenti, ministeri u aġenziji fl-istess waqt.
Jistgħu jqumu inċertezzi u anki kontroversji dwar min hu responsabbli għal xiex, jew min għandu jkun responsabbli għalxiex. Il-ġelożiji amministrattivi jeżistu fis-settur publiku ta’ kull pajjiż. Jekk ma jkunux imrażżna u maħlula tajjeb, jistgħu jkunu aktar “perikolużi” mill-intransiġenzi u l-arroganza tas-servizzi burokratiċi tal-Kummissjoni jew tal-Kunsill. Dawn ikunu jridu juru kif jafu jagħmlu x-xogħol ta’ kordinament ħafna aħjar mis-servizz publiku ta’ kwalunkwe pajjiż membru fil-Presidenza.
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Ceo Pulizija
Il-kunċett ta’ CEO biex imexxi l-amministrazzjoni tal-pulizija waqt li l-Kummissarju jiffoka dejjem aktar fuq il-ħidma polizjeska hu kunċett tajjeb. Matul l-aħħar deċennji, għal firxa ta’ attivitajiet fis-settur publiku li jagħtu servizzi speċjalizzati, saret prattika komuni li jifirdu t-tmexxija professjonali mill-amministrazzjoni (“management”).
L-isptarijiet per eżempju, jaħdmu aħjar jekk l-istaff mediku jikkonċentra fuq l-aspetti kollha tal-kura, u mhux irid jagħti kont ta’ kif isir l-iskedar ta’ dan jew dak. L-istess ħaġa tgħodd għal qrati, universitajiet u għaliex le? – pulizija.
Biss f’ħafna nħawi fl-Ewropa, donnu baqa’ l-ħsieb li biex tmexxi amministrattivament sptar, trid tkun tabib – qrati, avukat jew maġistrat eċċ. Fil-verità, sakemm min ikun inkarigat mill-amministrazzjoni jifhem kif għandu jitħaddem dan ir-rwol, x’aktarx li jikseb riżultati aħjar jekk il-formazzjoni tiegħu/tagħha tkun saret f’qasam ieħor mis-servizzi li j/tamministra.
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Lino Arrigo Azzopardi
Kien dedikat għal xogħlu u jagħmlu tajjeb ħafna, wieħed minn numru ristrett ta’ fotografi li rnexxielhom b’sengħa u ħila jiddokumentaw bir-ritratti tagħhom l-iżvilupp politiku u soċjali ta’ pajjiżna. Id-drabi li rajt lil Lino Arrigo Azzopardi fuq ix-xogħol, impressjonani b’kemm kien metikoluż f’kif jittratta il-ħidma li kellha ssir. Fl-istess ħin, kien jibqa’ jżomm bixra ċajtiera waqt li għajnejh iżebbġu ħalli jkun minn ta’ quddiem biex jintebaħ dwar xi opportunità mhux mistennija għal ritratt gwapp.
Nibqa’ niftakar kif, fi żmien li kellna għaddejja xi konferenza tal-Mediterran, ma’ oħrajn poġġieni bejn il-ministru tal-affarijiet barranin Iżraeljan Levy u Jasser Arafat waqt li ressaqthom ħalli jieħdu b’idejn xulxin. Kien ritratt “storiku” li l-għada deher fl-ewwel paġna ta’ numru ta’ ġurnali internazzjonali.
Impressjonani wkoll il-kuraġġ li bih ġarrab il-konsegwenzi tal-aċċident serju li kellu meta kien fuq xogħol barra mal-President Demarco. Il-mewt ta’ Lino tard is-sena li għaddiet kienet telfa kbira.

English Version – Turf wars

In these six months during which it is at the presidency of the EU, the Malta government’s administrative system must stay on the alert against lack of coordination internally between its own entities. Many European projects carry the complication that they are not monitored by just one structure but simultaneously involve diverse departments, ministries and agencies.

Uncertainties even controversies could arise regarding who is responsible for this, or who should be responsible for that. Turf wars happen in the public sector of all countries. If they are not controlled and defused properly, they could be more insidious than the intransigence and arrogance that can be displayed by the Commission or Council bureaucracies. These will want to show how they can carry out the tasks of coordination much better than the public service of any member state that happens to be running the Presidency.

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CEO police

The concept of having a Chief Executive Officer running police administration, thereby allowing the Commissioner to focus better on police tasks, is a good one. In past decades, it has become a common practice in a wide spread of public sector activities which provide specialised services, to separate the professional delivery of such services, from the management function.

Hospitals for instance, can give better service if medical staff can concentrate on all relevant curative aspects, without having to keep track of this or that administrative chore. The same applies to courts, universities and why not? – the police.

Still in many European countries, the idea remains that to manage a hospital well, you need to be a medical doctor – a lawyer or magistrate if it’s the courts, and so on. In truth, if whoever is in charge of the management understands what the role entails, quite likely he/she will achieve better results if h/she comes from a different professional discipline to that being overseen.

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Lino Arrigo Azzopardi

One of a restricted group of photographers who with skill and ability, succeeded with their photos to provide a record of this country’s political and social development, he was dedicated to his work and did a very good job of it. Whenever I saw Lino Arrigo Azzopardi on assignment, he impressed me with his meticulous approach to the task at hand. Yet, he would keep joking around, as his eyes strained to be the first to realize when a remarkable opportunity had arisen for some photo or other.

I well remember how during some Mediterranean conference that was proceeding, he and others placed me between the Israeli Foreign Minister Levy and Yasser Arafat as I was bringing these two together to shake hands. It was a “historical” photo that made the front page of quite a number of foreign papers.

I was also impressed with the courage he showed following the traffic accident in which he was seriously injured, when on assignment abroad with then President de Marco. Lino’s death late last year was a great loss.