The abolition of the incompatibility between the status of MP and that of civil servant, would go against the constitutional principle of separating the administrative function of the state from political power and would be an unprecedented undermining of the effort to combat the phenomena of intrigue and corruption, the Audit Office said in a statement.
And it expresses great surprise as it was informed today by the media about the intention in principle of the Parliamentary Institutions Committee to promote an amendment to Article 70 of the Constitution, in a way that would allow a public servant to be elected as a Member of Parliament without having to resign from his position, which would wait until he completes his parliamentary term to be able to return to it.
"If this were to be implemented, it would be an unprecedented undermining of the effort to combat the phenomena of interference and corruption, which the political parties profess to support," it says."
The Audit Office considers that such an abolition of the incompatibility of the status of MP with that of a civil servant would run counter to the constitutional principle of separating the administrative function of the State from political power."
The Audit Office considers that such an abolition of the incompatibility of the status of MP with that of a civil servant would run counter to the constitutional principle of separating the administrative function of the State from political power. "This separation has been described in many judicial decisions as fundamental and as defining the sphere of competence of political power on the one hand and that of the Administration on the other," he notes.
EY adds that more fundamentally, any interference of political power with the administrative functioning of the State would constitute a huge source of entanglement, which is a component of corruption, and at the same time would undermine citizens' trust in the State which is expected to be politically neutral, it adds.
At a time when Parliament is declaring its intention to identify loopholes in various regulations that create incompatibility, it is said, it would be a huge setback to abolish the most basic incompatibility that the constitutional legislature wisely introduced in 1960.
"Political neutrality of the administration is essential, especially for the administrations of Ministries and Departments and even more so for independent Services such as the Audit Service, the Legal Service, the Offices of the various Comptrollers and Commissioners, etc.," it adds.
The Audit Service also raises issues of functionality, questioning whether a post of a Director General, or a Head of Department or any other executive in a key post in the civil service will remain vacant for 5, 10 or 15 years until the holder decides to return back to it.
Essentially, it is said, such an arrangement would give the impression that the state considers that positions in the civil service belong ("are gutted") to the persons holding them. This approach, it is added, would be unacceptable. The persons holding the public positions are servants of the State and not the other way round.
"Given that all high positions in the civil service (above A13) are open to all citizens, any MP who believes after the end of his or her term of office that he or she could contribute from such a position may well claim it on an equal footing with all other citizens," the statement said.
Political parties, it said, are cells of democracy and have an extremely important task to perform in ensuring the democratic functioning of the State. However, it continues, they ought to stay away from the administrative functioning of the State.
The Audit Office urges political parties to have second thoughts and abandon any intention to amend Article 70 of the Constitution.
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