Clint Camilleri to remain in charge of hunting and trapping
List of cabinet responsibilities published in the Government Gazette
Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri will continue to be politically responsible for oversight of hunting and trapping, details of ministers’ remits show.
Camilleri, who is himself a trapper, has retained responsibility for Wild Birds Regulation and will therefore be in charge of the entity that drafts legislation for hunters and trappers, the WBRU.
The Ornis Committee – an 11-person advisory body that makes recommendations on various wild bird-related issues, including hunting and trapping seasons, will also be appointed by him.
Camilleri received a very public endorsement from the head of hunting federation FKNK at a campaign event last month. Lucas Micallef told a Nadur crowd "whenever a problem arises, no matter the time, Clint is always there... Sometimes I think he forgets he’s a minister."
Confirmation of Camilleri’s continued oversight of hunting and trapping came in an edition of the government gazette published on Friday evening, one day after Robert Abela’s new cabinet took their oaths of office.
Another Camilleri in cabinet, Education and Sports Minister Byron Camilleri, will also have political oversight of Malta’s citizenship and residence programmes – oversight he already had in his previous role as Home Affairs Minister.
The man he replaces at the Education Ministry, Clifton Grima, takes responsibility for research and innovation with him to the Justice Ministry he now leads.
Ministerial portfolio changes also see public works consolidated together with local councils under the oversight of Minister Alison Zerafa Civelli. Previously, the two were divided, with public works a secretariat within the Infrastructure Ministry.
Animal Welfare is now no longer the concern of the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry; instead, Parliamentary Secretary Alison Bugeja Said will report to the Environment Ministry led by Miriam Dalli.
Silvio Schembri’s Economy Ministry swaps ‘Enterprise’ for ‘Technology’ in its full title (‘Ministry for the Economy, Technology and Strategic Projects’) and has responsibility for ‘Crafts’ and ‘Investment Promotion’ added to its list of responsibilities.
Jonathan Attard’s broad remit of Infrastructure, Planning and Employment will see him take oversight of Identita’ and Jobsplus, but responsibility for the Department for Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER) will fall under his colleague Keith Azzopardi Tanti, as Minister for European Funds, Social Dialogue and Consumer Protection.
And while Chris Fearne’s Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs no longer has a reference to ‘trade’ in its title, the responsibilities remain unchanged: Fearne will, like his predecessor, be responsible for 'international trade' and 'cooperation trade promotion'.