Standards chief dismisses Chris Bonett complaint but warns over Facebook video
Case could have been avoided had Bonett followed social media guidelines closely, ethics czar said
The Standards Commissioner has dismissed a complaint against transport minister Chris Bonett over a ministry video that was posted to his Facebook page before appearing in other media.
However, the commissioner warned that Bonett should have followed ministerial guidelines on social media use more closely when posting the video.
The complaint was filed by Momentum chair Arnold Cassola, who argued that Bonett had breached rules by posting the video to his personal Facebook page, rather than through the transport ministry’s social media channels.
The video, produced by the transport ministry, Transport Malta and Malta Public Transport at the cost of €2,000, promotes 400 new and extended bus routes across Malta.
In his report, the commissioner found that the video had first been posted by Bonett to his Facebook page at midday on April 17, only appearing on TV days later.
However, when questioned about the matter, Bonett told the commissioner that the video had been distributed to newsrooms earlier that same morning, before it was published to his Facebook page.
In his reply, Bonett presented evidence of correspondence with several newsrooms, including TVM and NET TV, in which the video was shared that same morning.
He argued that the newsrooms’ decisions to only air the footage days later was their own prerogative and not taken upon the ministry’s instructions.
This decision to delay airing the video may have been taken because the incident took place over the Easter weekend, Bonett suggested.
The standards commissioner agreed with Bonett's assessment, finding that the case did not merit further investigation.
Nevertheless, he said, the delay created “an ambiguous and unhappy situation in which a video produced through public funds was being aired exclusively on the minister’s personal page, despite it having been shared with broadcasters”.
“However, this does not amount to an ethics breach, since the minister had no say in this delay,” the commissioner said.
Bonett should have followed guidelines more closely
While dismissing the complaint, the commissioner nonetheless said the situation could have been avoided had Bonett followed guidelines for ministers’ use of social media more studiously.
Those guidelines say that such videos should be posted to the ministry’s page and then shared by the minister, rather than uploaded directly to the minister's social media channels.
“In this case, this procedure may have appeared redundant, since the video had already been shared to broadcasters, however this case confirms why these guidelines are important,” the commissioner concluded.
Posting on Facebook on Tuesday, Bonett welcomed the commissioner’s findings, saying it confirmed his duty to keep the public informed over the work carried out by his ministry.
Meanwhile, Cassola said the findings show Bonett breaking ministerial rules by dodging guidelines and procedure on ministers’ social media use.