The government has appointed Prof. Maurice Mullard to lead the spending review for all ministries, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in Parliament.
He was answering a question by Nationalist MP Claudette Buttigieg.
The terms of reference were to establish the relevance or otherwise of financial allocations in the annual Budget; to identify opportunities for the re-allocation of existent spending with a view to addressing priorities and other needs; and to see how Malta’s needs could be accomplished with the same financial resources available to date.
Dr Muscat said that besides his academic qualifications and years of experience, Prof. Mullard had already served the government as a public finances consultant between 1998 and 2002.
The consultant was being paid a gross fee of €23,000, return transport costs between the UK and Malta, and accommodation for the time he spent in Malta.