PN says Commissioner for Standards decision 'irresponsible'
The Nationalist Party on Saturday said that the latest decision given by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life on the appointment of government Ministers’ wives and partners has meant that under his government, Labour and Ministers can
The Nationalist Party on Saturday said that the latest decision given by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life on the appointment of government Ministers’ wives and partners has meant that under his government, Labour and Ministers can continue doing whatever they want.
PN MP Karol Aquilina said in a statement that Labour government Ministers have now been given the blessing to employ and give consultancies to their wives, husbands, and partners.
Aquilina said that the Commissioner for Standards, following a complaint presented by independent election candidate Arnold Cassola, used the “pathetic excuse that the laws of our country and the Code of Ethics say nothing about the employment of wives, husbands, and partners of Ministers.”
He said that for the Nationalist Party, it is common sense that the wives, husbands, and partners of Ministers, no matter which government they belong to, should not be given jobs or consultancies that in everyone's eyes and minds were given to them only because of their relationship with government Ministers.
“The wives, husbands, and partners of Ministers should not be given advantages and privileges they do not deserve. It is only on the basis of meritocracy and after a public process that persons related to government Ministers should be given jobs or consultancies with the government,” Aquilina said.
He said that the Commissioner for Standards carried out no investigation, made no search for the truth, and conducted no analysis of the information.
“The Commissioner relied only on letters sent to him by four Labour government Ministers and on a superficial reading of our country's laws and the Code of Ethics,” Aquilina said.
He continued that the decision was an irresponsible one and further confirms how right the Opposition was in its position that Emeritus Chief Justice Joseph Azzopardi should never have been Commissioner for Standards.
“With the decisions that Azzopardi is making, he is further rendering the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life as an almost useless institution, serving to approve the abuse of power by Labour government Ministers,” Aquilina said.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
