Six Ministries Avoid Sharing Details On Traffic Fines Incurred By Government Vehicles In Parliamentary Questions
The Ministries of the Economy, Inclusion, Gozo, Home Affairs, Energy and Finance all avoided sharing data related to traffic fines incurred by vehicles contracted to personnel in their ministries as asked of them through the most recent parliamentary questions.
The shadow ministers of those six ministries all asked the same question: “Can the Minister state how many traffic fines were incurred by his Ministry from April 2022 until the date this parliamentary question is answered, specifying the vehicle involved, who was driving the vehicle and their position within the Ministry, the total amount in fines, and whether these fines were paid by the person who committed the violation or from public funds?”
All of the ministers provided the same reply, almost to the word:
“I refer the Honorable Interpellant to the Manual on Transport and Travel Policies and Procedures. This manual provides guidelines on how traffic fines related to government vehicles should be handled, including the payment of such fines.”
The manual, issued by the Finance Ministry, provides guidelines for the management of government transport and official travel.
The manual doesn’t explicitly discuss the release of data regarding traffic fines incurred by a ministry or minister. However, it explains that public funds are not used to pay a fine incurred by a state official working within a ministry.
In particular, it emphasises that drivers are responsible for abiding by traffic laws while using government vehicles. All traffic fines are reviewed and if there are no extraordinary reasons to justify breaking the traffic rules, the driver responsible must pay the fine.
If the ministry, department or division has already paid the traffic fine, then the driver needs to reimburse the amount.
While the last part of the question was answered with the guide the rest of it, i.e. the amount of fines issued per ministry, he people behind the wheels of the offending vehicles; the type of vehicle; and the positions within the ministries that these people hold/held.
Parliamentary questions serve an important role in ensuring transparency and clarification from ministers regarding their policies, decisions, or actions.
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