Insellmilkom,
Public sector workers have a key role to play in making our country a better place for its citizens.
In these days during which we commemorate Public Service Week, I would like to stress the great reforms that have been made in recent years so that today we have the most efficient Public Service so much so that confidence in it is 14 percentage points. above the European average.
But first of all it is good to acknowledge the fruitful work that has been done and is still being done by thousands of workers in many departments and governmental entities in these extraordinary circumstances that the world is going through.
The last few months have been a great challenge for all the people. Not least for workers working in the Public Service. Challenging times where as a Government we have stepped up our efforts to respond to the challenge posed by the pandemic. I am pleased to say that the civil servants have risen to the occasion. They worked tirelessly to help us implement the decisions we took as a government to protect the health and livelihood of the Maltese and Gozitan people. Suffice it to say that the service of 153 received an average of 60 thousand phone calls a month and another 30 thousand during the months to Covid-Nineteen.
Not a day goes by in which the Government through the Public Service has not delivered the essential services on which our people rely. A public service that offers over two thousand services with an estimated 13 million transactions per year.
And that is why today at the beginning of this week I thank every public official for the dedication, creativity and commitment they have shown to innovatively and with the least bureaucracy successfully implement the measures we have taken. as a Government to support families and businesses in our country.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the public service has been there to assist in every area, particularly health, and to save the lives of thousands of families. It was also there to protect the security of our country, our borders and to bring back to our country thousands of Maltese who were in other lands. Adapted and found innovative ways to respond immediately to new needs.
In a short time and in the most efficient way, thousands of families and businesses began to receive the necessary help that we announced in the Economic Regeneration Plan. Among them the wage supplement to thousands of workers and the vouchers to the Maltese who were very supportive to the hoteliers and restaurants in our country.
Beyond the pandemic, the Public Service has been and remains the backbone of this administration. Without it, the economic and social vision of this Government, which is working hard to resume the path of economic success in a short time, cannot be implemented. This is because everyone knows that everything starts from a healthy economy.
At the same time, other public officials are committed to continuing to improve the standard of living of Maltese and Gozitans, who carry out our 700 million euro program to change the face of our country, to offer a holistic education to the people. our students, to see that our industries become more competitive and productive, and to make our country one of the first to meet environmental goals including being carbon-free by 2050 as I announced in my vision for years following.
To meet today’s and tomorrow’s challenges, it is therefore necessary for the Public Service to continue to increase its professionalism, flexibility, technological capabilities and, above all, to remain open to new and innovative ideas. where they come from. We need to continue to evolve to successfully fulfill our vision of cutting red tape.
As it had a clear direction from the Government, the Public Service was at its best to deliver the services that the Maltese rely on and to effectively implement the measures promised in the Government’s electoral program which will continue to improve the the quality of life of our people.
The main priority remains that the citizen remains in the center of the Public Service of our country. It will be the one to drive innovation, evolve and adapt immediately to the changes that are taking place around us.
With the work that has been done we are at the top of e-government in Europe and I am confident that with the direction we have given and the strong technological investment that we will continue to make, in the near future we will make the next leap to -Public Service continues to be a powerful tool to ensure that the services offered continue to respond to the needs of our people.
