Neville Gafà returns to Castille in customer care role

Neville Gafà is returning to the Office of the Prime Minister to resume duties similar to those he held under former prime minister Joseph Muscat.

This time, however, Gafà will report to Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue Andy Ellul, whose portfolio falls under the direct responsibility of Prime Minister Robert Abela.

Gafà, who served as an advisor at the OPM under Joseph Muscat, was recently rehabilitated within the Labour Party after being sidelined when Abela took office.

A spokesperson for Ellul’s secretariat confirmed Gafà returned to Castille as a customer care coordinator, saying:

“Mr Neville Gafà has been engaged within the Secretariat of Hon. Dr Andy Ellul on the basis of his prior experience in coordinating customer care matters. In this capacity, he will be supporting the secretariat with respect to customer care issues.”

Gafà is a controversial figure and was at the centre of allegations involving a multi-million-euro medical visa scam, where Libyan nationals were allegedly charged thousands of euros to secure medical visas and treatment in Malta.

Gafà’s social media shows he is fulfilling a customer care role for the Labour Party in Gozo but now also in Malta. Photo: Facebook/ Neville Gafà

In the past he had also placed placards at a makeshift memorial for murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Valletta, featuring printouts of news stories that cast a negative light on the journalist. 

The spokesperson said Gafà will be working full-time (40 hours per week), “with remuneration determined in accordance with the established public service frameworks regulating such appointments.”

“The contract of engagement has been duly processed in line with public service procedures.”

During Joseph Muscat’s tenure, Gafà led the OPM’s customer care efforts, earning a reputation as an effective manager who ensured that public complaints about government services were addressed.

When Robert Abela took over, however, Gafà was given no role at the OPM or any other job with the government or Labour Party.

In 2020, Gafà supported Abela in his bid for PL leader, but their relationship quickly soured when Gafà was left without a job. But over the last few months, the relationship between Abela and Gafà has significantly improved.

In July, Times of Malta reported that Gafà was doing customer care work for the Labour Party in Gozo. Gafà’s social media shows he is now also fulfilling that role in Malta as well, meeting people at Labour Party headquarters in Ħamrun.

Times of Malta also requested Gafà’s salary details and a copy of his contract from Ellul’s secretariat, but no information was provided. However, sources did say that Gafà’s official title will be that of ‘coordinator’.

The government rules that regulate these sorts of appointments – the Manual on Resourcing Policies and Procedures – classify the maximum remuneration a person of trust can earn.

A ‘coordinator’s’ yearly salary is pegged at government scale 7 (€33,694), plus 25 per cent as disturbance pay and/or as an allowance instead of overtime. That means the maximum total salary of a coordinator is €42,117.

A ‘senior coordinator’s salary is tied to government scale 6 (€35,857), with the same 25 per cent pay injection available. That role’s maximum salary is €44,821.

Other person of trust roles are more lucrative. Advisors/policy consultants’ maximum salaries, for example, are tied to scale 3 and can also receive a €20,000 expertise allowance per year.

Former economy minister Chris Cardona is among those working as government policy consultants.

On Monday, Times of Malta revealed that Cardona is a paid policy consultant for junior minister Keith Azzopardi Tanti. He is under a 10-hour-a-week contract.

Apart from a pro-rata salary worth around €11,000 annually (scale 3 pro rata), Cardona’s contract also states he is to receive a €20,000 expertise allowance, €4,320 in car and expense allowances and a further €1,600 communication allowance.