Since the Labour Party swept to power in 2013, a toxic sense of entitlement has prevailed among government ministers who, like a hungry pack of hyenas, have preyed on the state coffers to make themselves, their relatives and their close allies increasingly wealthy.
Disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat, whose tactical shrewdness won him the title of ‘The artful dodger of Europe’, went back on his hollow promises of meritocracy, accountability and transparency, and, instead, defended the employment of hundreds of handpicked Labour cronies in the public service.
The Council of Europe’s Venice Commission expressed concern about the employment of these so-called persons of trust, whom it considered as a danger to the public service that forms the backbone of a democratic state under the rule of law.
Prime Minster Robert Abela has shown himself to be a continuation of his disgraced predecessor, Muscat and has lost his moral authority by defending and downplaying the looting of public funds that became common practice under his premiership.
Notorious Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar coined the phrase “pigging out” to describe a situation of abuse of the state coffers to reward persons at the echelon of power and their allies.
She felt entitled to pig out at the trough like she said everyone else was doing. Therefore, in May 2019, she struck a backdated three-year contract with the Institute for Tourism Studies that carried a remuneration set at €27,000 yearly. In the process, she ignored the fact that she lacked the required knowledge and expertise to fulfill specific duties and responsibilities related to the post. What mattered to her was that she pigs out like other Labour cronies.
Cutajar also breached parliamentary ethical standards by failing to include her income from ITS in her declaration of assets to parliament. But, then again, the prime minister failed to declare thousands of euros in rental income that he has been receiving at least since 2019 from Russian applicants for Maltese citizenship.
During that same year, Cutajar earned an additional €59,942 from two respective positions that she occupied, namely her position of commissioner for simplification and reduction of bureaucracy and her other position as an MP.
In 2019, she also received €9,000 from business mogul Yorgen Fenech for whom that year she acted as a broker in a multi-million property deal.
Besides, on a complaint lodged by independent politician Arnold Cassola, parliament’s standards commissioner concluded on a balance of evidence that Cutajar had most likely also pocketed a €46,500 brokerage fee, while he advised that the tax department investigates her over her alleged involvement in the deal.
The fish rots from the head down and, on another complaint lodged by Cassola, the standards commissioner found Abela guilty of breaching ethics by misusing public funds to promote himself and his image. Abela reacted by showing contempt for the commissioner through his refusal to apologise for such abuse of power.
Lately, Abela stuck his neck out for former tourism minister Clayton Bartolo and Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri who, from an investigation by the standards commissioner, also triggered by Cassola, resulted to have abused public funds by underhandedly arranging a lucrative €70,000 yearly fake policy consultant job for Bartolo’s girlfriend that included a €20,000 expertise allowance.
Abela adamantly refused public calls for the dismissal of the two abusing ministers and only accepted Bartolo’s resignation following the flagging by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit of around €50,000 in alleged kickbacks made to Bartolo’s girlfriend by a private company linked to a Malta Tourism Authority contract.
The fish rots from the head down- Denis Tanti
A similar case of misappropriation of public funds involved Ian Borg who was elevated to deputy prime minister and who excels when it comes to abusing the public purse to reward his close allies and their relatives.
At the time that Borg was entrusted with the transport portfolio, his right-hand man and chief canvasser, Jesmond Zammit was handed an annual financial package exceeding €67,000, that included a €20,000 expertise allowance (identical to that given to Bartolo’s girlfriend) without a specific subject for his advisor role and despite not possessing any specialised qualification.
In addition, Zammit’s daughter was awarded a €62,400 contract by direct order to provide legal advice to the transport regulator three months before she graduated as a lawyer. Subsequently, in August 2020, Transport Malta awarded her another direct order for services as a legal consultant at €46,142 every six months.
Four years ago, Abela criticised the former Nationalist government for allowing heads of authorities to continue working in their private practice. He said that CEOs should focus solely on the authority they are heading and pledged to stop them from dealing with their personal business while occupying a role with the state.
However, Abela did another of his 360-degree political U-turns and, instead, continued to give a freehand to all government handpicked CEOs to carry on with their private work.
No doubt, the fake job arranged for Bartolo’s girlfriend constitutes a serious abuse of power and breach of ministerial ethics but, from a financial perspective, it is just the tip of the iceberg.
For instance, former Labour MP Luciano Busuttil, who supported Abela in his Labour Party leadership bid, last year received €350,000 in appointments and direct orders from government ministries while he continued serving his private clients.
Carmen Ciantar, the election campaign manager of former deputy prime minister Chris Fearne, had received a five-year public contract worth €163,000 annually, while her daughter landed a position on Fearne’s ministry’s payroll.
Occupational Health and Safety Authority CEO Josianne Cutajar receives a raft of allowances unrelated to her official duties that enabled her to maintain the six-figure package that she enjoyed before moving from St Vincent de Paul long-term-care facility. At the same time, she has continued performing her private practice as a medical practitioner.
Other heads of public authorities who are receiving a lucrative salary while at the same time performing another job include Pierre Fenech of ITS, Ryan Fava of Enemalta and Joseph Cuschieri of Project Green.
The Labour government has thrown the talents and hard work of the people down the drain and promoted a culture of organisational cronyism.
Denis Tanti is a former assistant director at the health ministry.