Former education ministry permanent secretary Frank Fabri has been appointed general manager of the Institute for Tourism Studies, Times of Malta has learnt.
Fabri has been tasked with the implementation of the new ITS strategic plan launched last year. One of the most important aspects of this new plan is the training school which is aimed at training the thousands of people who are already working in the industry.
The ITS strategic plan aims at shaping excellence and innovation in tourism, through teaching and learning, quality research, advice, and realisation of innovative business concepts.
Fabri had resigned as permanent secretary in January, a month after then-education minister Justyne Caruana left her role following an ethics probe by the standards commissioner.
In December, Standards Commissioner George Hyzler concluded that a €5,000-a-month contract Caruana had awarded to her friend, former Malta footballer Daniel Bogdanovic, had breached the code of ethics.
The damning report found that while Bogdanovic had been paid to review the National Sports School, he had not written the report himself and repeatedly lied about this under questioning.
The commissioner also said that there was a “concerted effort to hide Bogdanovic’s incompetence” and that the work had actually been carried out by Paul Debattista, one of Caruana’s consultants.
Fabri was indicted in the report because he signed off on the contract.
In his report, Hyzler said that Fabri had declined to tell him whether it was the minister who had put forward Bogdanovic’s name to conduct the study into the sports school, even when asked multiple times. Hyzler recommended the report be handed over to the police over potential criminal violations.
The Union of Professional Educators (UPE) had also formally asked Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà to investigate both Caruana and Fabri.
“The contract was signed by Dr Francis Fabri, permanent secretary on behalf of the ministry,” the union had said. “Payments to the named individual were issued... moreover, the report and annexes indicate that the ministry was aware of the lack of competence of the named individual... and still proceeded to effect almost full payment,” it had added.
Contacted on Thursday regarding the new post given to Fabri, UPE executive head Graham Sansone said he was “disgusted” with the most recent appointment.
“A few months ago, Fabri was reported to the police and a criminal complaint was filed against him over the Bogdanovic report. He left a negative legacy in the Education Ministry but instead of learning from our mistakes, we placed him in another education institution. These are things that are unheard of in a European country,” he said.
He questioned whether the Tourism Minister was aware of the alleged wrongdoings in his ministry under his predecessor. “Is he ready to sacrifice ITS in a way that the education department was sacrificed under his realm when he was permanent secretary,” he said.
Sansone also questioned whether the Public Service Commission had concluded its investigation into Fabri and appealed to Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo to take action and withdraw Fabri’s appointment.
ITS chief executive Pierre Fenech told Times of Malta when contacted that Fabri "will be detailed to ITS" to fulfil the role as the general manager of a training school which will train people employed within the tourism and hospitality sector.
"The choice of the aforementioned person is based on qualities and experience within the Education sector given that this school will mainly focus on hands-on training both within ITS and also on the job within the industry," he said.
He added that the ITS was "optimistic" that his expertise will enhance the already strong links between this educational institution and the tourism industry while ensuring that the strategic plan for the next 5 years is delivered and tangible results in the hospitality industry are achieved.
Questions sent to Fabri and the Tourism Ministry remained unanswered by the time of writing.