16 student organisations call for Bartolo, Camilleri resignation

Sixteen student organisations on Monday called for the resignation of ministers Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri following a report which found them guilty of a breach of ethics when Bartolo's partner was given a consultancy job in both their ministries.

The Standard Commissioner found that the two ministers had abused their power when Amanda Muscat was first employed at the Tourism Ministry and later the Gozo Ministry in spite of not having qualifications for the job.

The report, which was endorsed by the Standards Committee last week, also found that Muscat had received a salary of €68,000.

Calls for their resignation have gone unheeded, with Prime Minister Robert Abela defending them and saying an apology by Bartolo was sufficient. Among those calling for their resignation are the Nationalist Party and NGO Repubblika.

On Monday, the University Students' Council (KSU) and 15 other student organisations issued a statement also calling for their resignation.

The scandal, the statement said, "exposes yet again the deep-rooted lack of accountability in Maltese politics".

Bartolo and Camilleri had stayed on in their role in spite of the scandal, and despite the "blatant abuse of power", Abela had "failed to demand accountability."

"Self-regulation and a toothless accountability framework are failing Malta. This scandal is just the latest in a string of political abuses that erode public trust and normalise impunity," the KSU said in a statement.

"Malta is owed ethical governance and transparency from our elected representatives. We are entitled to leadership that upholds the rule of law and prioritises the collective good over personal gain."

Recent events had also "shone a light on the limits of the [Standards] Commissioner's role," which, it said, relied on political will to enforce his judgements - "something which Malta's leaders have repeatedly failed to show".

Monday's statement was endorsed by student organisations SDM, MKSA, MHSA, MIRSA, ESA, GħMU, UESA, Betapsi, GħSL, ALLT, SACES, SĦS, ICTSA, ELSA and Studenti Attivisti.