ADPD on Saturday called for full transparency in the administration of public funds, warning that lack of transparency was a threat to democracy.

In March, the party's leader Carmel Cacopado asked the Auditor-General to investigate the contract by which the Institute of Tourism Studies engaged Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar as a consultant.

The consultancy was revealed in chats between the MP and Yorgen Fenech.

Times of Malta revealed that Cutajar did not list the existence of her €27,000-per-year “extra” job as an ITS consultant in her mandatory financial declarations to parliament for 2019. 

Cacopardo observed that according to the 2019 contract, published by ShiftNews, Cutajar was engaged to provide financial administration services to the ITS. Yet she does not have any competence in this area, having qualified to teach Italian.

Addressing the media outside the National Audit Office on Saturday, the Green Party's international secretary Mina Jack Tolo said the Auditor General has been called upon many times to investigate questionable public-sector decisions.

"ADPD has always respected the institutions. Hence why it has presented many cases to the Auditor-General for investigation over the years. All those who administer public funds are obliged to do so in the national interest and not for someone’s abusive gain. At the end of the day, everybody should shoulder full responsibility for their actions," they said.

Cacopardo said ADPD will continue demanding full transparency in the administration of public funds.

"Only this will lead to real accountability. We must strive for transparency and accountability without fail. Any hidden information leads to bad governance and inevitably undermines accountability. Lack of transparency threatens democracy itself."