Reshuffle: Zrinzo Azzopardi gets EU funds, Owen Bonnici adds Lands

Updated 3.20pm

Owen Bonnici has had responsibility for the Lands Authority added to his ministerial portfolio as part of a minor cabinet reshuffle.

The reshuffle sees former Lands Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi shift to the newly created position of Minister for EU Funds and junior minister Andy Ellul assume responsibility for the competition regulator, the MCCAA.

As part of the reshuffle, Byron Camilleri assumes responsibility for the National Development and Social Fund – a sovereign fund responsible for managing income from Malta’s golden passports scheme.

Camilleri was initially touted as being prepared to relinquish his role as Home Affairs Minister to focus exclusively on the other part of his portfolio, employment.

The minister has served more than five years in the taxing role and is understood to have been open to a change in ministerial responsibilities, having already tried to resign last February following a heist from an army barracks.

But those plans were called off following a meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister on Wednesday morning. Camilleri told reporters he would be retaining his existing portfolio and thanked the Prime Minister, Robert Abela, for his trust and support.

A government statement announcing the portfolio changes confirmed that Camilleri will also take control of the NDSF, Malta’s sovereign wealth fund. The fund was previously controlled by the Office of the Prime Minister and has not published an annual report since 2022.

Zrinzo Azzopardi's change of responsibilities sees him return to familiar grounds: the fifth district MP's first cabinet post back in 2020 was as parliamentary secretary for EU Funds. He will retain ministerial responsibility for the Implementation of Labour's Electoral Programme.  

For Owen Bonnici, the additional responsibility assigned to him confirms Abela’s pledge earlier this week to back his long-serving minister “with greater force” following criticism about a consultancy contract awarded to author and blogger Mark Camilleri.

It will also help temper any disappointment he may harbour at rumours of him being made minister for national security – effectively taking over oversight of the police, armed forces, prisons and civil protection department – failing to materialise.

In a Facebook post Bonnici said the addition of lands to his portfolio would help consolidate the sector with the preservation of national heritage and meeting the needs of local councils.  

Andy Ellul, who serves as junior minister for social dialogue, will now be entrusted with overseeing the MCCAA, one of the country's most important regulators.  

Rumours of a cabinet reshuffle kicked off on Monday afternoon after Abela vehemently denied suggestions that he intended to demote or fire Bonnici.

Those rumours were confirmed on Wednesday morning, when various ministers were seen entering and exiting the Office of the Prime Minister in Castille.

Government sources insisted throughout that any changes would be "minimal".  That likelihood was cemented into place once talk of Byron Camilleri exiting Home Affairs fell by the wayside. 

In the end, just four cabinet members were directly impacted by the changes. 

Zrinzo Azzopardi swapped Lands for EU Funds in his ministerial portfolio; Owen Bonnici added Lands to his existing remit of Culture, National Heritage and Local Government; Byron Camilleri had the NDSF bolted onto his existing portfolio; and Andy Ellul will now also be responsible for the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA). 

The MCCAA was previously under the oversight of the prime minister.

The cabinet tweaks mean two permanent secretaries have been assigned new roles in different ministries, the government said in a statement.

Carlos Tabone will assume the role of Permanent Secretary within the Office of the Prime Minister (Equality, Reforms and Social Dialogue), while Jonathan Vassallo will take up the position of Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for European Funds and Implementation of the Electoral Programme.

PN: Nothing but musical chairs

In a statement, the Nationalist Party said Abela had been forced into a "superficial game of musical chairs presented as change" because Byron Camilleri had pressured the prime minister to stay put. 

It was "common knowledge" that Abela wanted to remove Camilleri from his home affairs role, the Opposition party said. 

"This is a deeply troubling situation for the country, led by a Prime Minister who has clearly lost control over his own Cabinet," the PN said.