OPM head of customer care Sandro Craus and deputy head of communications Nigel Vella have resigned. 

Government sources confirmed on Monday that Craus, who is the public face of the Office of the Prime Minister's customer care unit, had moved on.  

The position of head of customer care was established by the Labour administration when it swept to power in 2013.  Having held the position since its inception, Craus was responsible for running the unit that managed public complaints and grievances presented to the OPM by the public.  

Contacted on Monday evening, Craus said he planned to take one month of gardening leave and had not yet decided where he would be moving to, but had decided to call it quits at the OPM after eight years. 

Craus, who also serves as Rabat mayor, hit the headlines in 2019 when Daphne Caruana Galizia murder middleman turned state witness Melvin Theuma testified that he had been given a phantom government job by Craus following a meeting with then-OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri. Craus has categorically denied that claim.

Vella eyes Malta Enterprise role

Meanwhile, Nigel Vella, the deputy head of communications at the Office of the Prime Minister, has also decided to move on.  

Contacted on Monday, Vella, confirmed he had taken the decision to leave the OPM. He said his relationship with the Labour administration was as good as it had always been. 

Vella served as the Labour Party's communications chief between 2013 and 2017, subsequently making the move to the OPM. He is a party man, having held positions in the PL’s youth wing prior to the 2013 election. 

He was appointed to the board of the Malta Digital Innovation Authority in 2019, tasked as serving as a governor on the board of the blockchain sector regulator.

Vella is expected to take on a position at Malta Enterprise, the state economic development agency which is currently headed by former chief government spokesman Kurt Farrugia.