Ministers Bartolo, Camilleri should attend Standards Committee sitting to explain - Cassola

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola said Ministers Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri should explain their behaviour but also other issues related to their breach of ethics case.Yesterday, the Standards Committee endorsed the conclusions of a repor

By: independent.com.mt

Nov 22 2024
45
3720 Views

Ministers Bartolo, Camilleri s

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola said Ministers Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri should explain their behaviour but also other issues related to their breach of ethics case.

Yesterday, the Standards Committee endorsed the conclusions of a report by the Standards Commissioner who found that Bartolo and Camilleri had breached ethics when Bartolo's girlfriend, now wife, was given a job she was not qualified for.

The committee will be meeting again on Wednesday to discuss the way forward, giving the possibility to the two ministers to explain their position. Both, however, have the option not to attend.

In a statement Friday, Cassola said submitted the following questions which, he said, need to be answered.

1. On what basis did Minister Bartolo decide that, in November 2020, Ms Amanda Muscat deserved a 2000 euro a month rise, from Personal Secretary to expert consultant?

2. Why was this new post terminated after only 5 months, in April 2021? Was it because Minister Bartolo panicked after Arnold Cassola had reported Minister Justyne Caruana for employing her boyfriend Daniel Bogdanovic, who had no expertise in the field he was supposed to work?

3. Why was Ms Muscat taken over by the Gozo Ministry as a consultant in April 2021 and not by any other Ministry? On what basis was this decided?

4. Who decided she was to get a further 500 euro a month rise?

5. How did she perform her duties in Gozo if she never went physically there and never communicated by email with her Gozo employers?

6. Was it legimitate for the supposed Gozo consultant to use the Tourism Ministry premises in Malta while she was supposed to be working in Gozo, in order to organize a private birthday party for Minister Bartolo in his office?

7. What was the cost of this lavish birthday party, which included professional filming? Who paid for the services of showman Ron Briffa, singer Destiny and the technicians filming the event?

8. Since the employment of Ms Muscat as a consultant both with Ministers Bartolo and Camilleri was according to standard procedure, this means that the OPM had approved Ms Muscat's engagement. What due diligence was done by the Office of the Prime Minister to ensure that she was fit for both consultant jobs?

It is in the interest of the Maltese taxpayers that Ministers Bartolo and Camilleri give clear explanations to the above next week.