Buhagiar reappointment row sparked mini cabinet reshuffle

Updated 1.37pm with PN statement

Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi wanted out of the Lands Ministry after the authority he oversaw reinstated Kurt Buhagiar without his approval, Times of Malta is informed.

Buhagiar stands accused of the involuntary homicide of Jean Paul Sofia and was suspended from his Lands Authority job as a result of those criminal charges, which he denies.

In May, Zrinzo Azzopardi moved from Lands to the EU Funds portfolio in a mini cabinet reshuffle. He was the only minister to see a noteworthy change in his portfolio. Owen Bonnici added responsibility for Lands to his existing ministerial portfolio, while Byron Camilleri and Andy Ellul were each given a new entity to oversee.

Back in late spring, sources said that Zrinzo Azzopardi had been pushing for a move away from the Lands Ministry but had declined to say what prompted that request. Multiple ministers and senior government officials have now confirmed that Buhagiar’s return to his Lands Authority job was a major reason why Zrinzo Azzopardi wanted out.

Zrinzo Azzopardi is understood to have been dead set against returning Buhagiar to his job as a driver with the Lands Authority while the criminal case against him was ongoing. But he was sidestepped and wasn’t even informed of Buhagiar’s reappointment until after it had happened.

“Zrinzo Azzopardi was construction minister when the Sofia collapse happened. He wanted to avoid reviving such a sensitive issue, at all costs,” one minister said.

Another told Times of Malta that Zrinzo Azzopardi was livid that his instructions to keep Buhagiar at arms’ length had been ignored.

Zrinzo Azzopardi was quick to publicly distance himself from Buhagiar’s reinstatement, writing on social media that “I never gave consent or approved this decision.”

Various ministers also hinted that Zrinzo Azzopardi had another, as yet undisclosed issue concerning the Lands Ministry which prompted him to look for a way out. They declined to provide further details.

Kurt Buhagiar is among five accused of the involuntary homicide of Jean Paul Sofia, who died in a construction site collapse at the Corradino Industrial Estate in December 2022. He is pleading not guilty to the charges.

Buhagiar was one of two developers of the construction site.

Isabelle Bonnici with a photograph of her son Jean Paul Sofia, says she is saddened by the reappointment of Kurt Buhagiar to his government job. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Lands CEO in PM’s ‘good books’

A government source said Lands CEO Robert Vella enjoys practically unfettered power.

“No minister enjoys being sidestepped by a CEO who is technically beneath him. And that’s what happened in this case – Robert [Vella] just ignored Zrinzo Azzopardi.

“Vella has been in the position since 2021 and has survived multiple ministers – and this is in a highly sensitive entity which intersects with practically every ministry in one way or another. You don’t do that unless you’re in the prime minister’s good books.”

While Zrinzo Azzopardi made it clear he disagreed with the decision to reinstate Buhagiar, Prime Minister Robert Abela defended it.

Buhagiar, the prime minister said, was previously being paid while suspended but is now “carrying out the duties he is paid to do”.

Abela added that the decision to bring back Buhagiar was made by the Lands Authority’s executive team.

The move has angered Jean Paul Sofia’s mother Isabelle Bonnici, who successfully campaigned for a public inquiry into the collapse, forcing a U-turn from Abela.

Writing on social media yesterday, she said the authorities should be ashamed of themselves.

“Robert Abela, I believed you when you as a prime minister admitted you made mistakes in the way you handled our case,” she wrote.

“I believed all you ever said to me because I thought that somewhere in your heart you were a father, our father, who should protect us not protect who is killing us. And then you do this. I am so sad about this,” she said.  Kurt Buhagiar’s return to government work is not the first controversial reinstatement.

Last year, Transport Malta official Clint Axisa, who was suspended over sexual harassment charges in 2022, returned to work for the government at a different public entity. The criminal case against him remains ongoing. He denies all charges.

In April 2024, Robert Abela revealed that 36 public officials who were suspended returned to work since October 2023, despite facing ongoing criminal procedures.

Months later, the government further softened its stance towards public officials who landed in legal hot water, bumping up the salary allowance of suspended officials to 80% from the previous 50%.

Reacting to the news, the Nationalist Party slammed the Prime Minister for “choosing to stand against" Jean Paul Sofia and his family.

In a statement on Thursday, the PN accused Robert Abela of simply changing the minister who disagreed with him rather than make any real changes within the sector.

“Robert Abela continues to confirm he has learnt absolutely nothing from this tragedy,” the PN said.