Standards Commissioner clears PN MP Toni Bezzina of ethics breach

Nationalist MP Toni Bezzina did not breach ethical standards while working as a public sector architect, the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has concluded.

The matter was raised by Neville Gafà, who alleged that Bezzina had failed to attend work as a senior architect at the Public Works Department and had carried out private architectural work during official hours.

In a statement reacting to the findings, the Nationalist Party called on Prime Minister Robert Abela to apologise to Bezzina, describing the case as politically motivated.

The Standards Commissioner’s report found insufficient evidence to support the accusations, concluding: “The undersigned did not find sufficient evidence to determine that Bezzina committed an ethical breach as alleged, and is therefore closing the case.”

According to the report, Bezzina admitted he does not sign the attendance register, citing an ongoing sectoral industrial dispute as the reason.

The Director General of the Public Works Department confirmed that the department had not received any complaints about Bezzina's attendance and acknowledged the difficulty of tracking hours due to a lack of formal structure.

The Director General also noted that Bezzina often worked outside standard hours to compensate for any time lost.

While clearing Bezzina, the commissioner also stressed the importance of implementing recommendations made over four years ago by the former Standards Commissioner.

These include clarifying whether Members of Parliament who are also public employees can be released from work to carry out political functions, and ensuring mechanisms are in place to prevent abuse of such arrangements.

“It should be clarified whether a Member of Parliament who is a public sector employee may be released from work to attend meetings of their parliamentary group, or to perform duties as party whip or deputy leader for parliamentary affairs; this exercise should also consider meetings and events attended by the MP in their capacity as a shadow minister,” one recommendation reads.

Another calls for resolution on whether senior government-employed architects like Bezzina are required to sign the attendance register, as well as mechanisms to ensure conflict-of-interest rules are followed when they undertake private work.

The Nationalist Party said similar allegations had also been levelled at PN MPs Robert Cutajar and Ivan Castillo, who were also cleared by the commissioner.

The PN further accused the Labour Party of exploiting the allegations to distract from its own scandals.

The complaint against Bezzina was filed in November, during a span of a few days when the Prime Minister was facing a crisis that led to the resignation of Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo.

Bartolo stepped down as minister after he and Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri were found to have abused their positions by securing a consultancy for Bartolo’s partner, Amanda Muscat.

While Bartolo resigned from cabinet, he remains an MP. The PN pointed out that Camilleri, who it says was “found just as guilty”, continues to enjoy Abela’s support.