Update 7pm with PN, PL reactions

Parliament’s standards committee unanimously endorsed a damning report which concluded that Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri abused their power when they gave Bartolo’s then-girlfriend a lucrative consultancy job.

In its next sitting - set for  November 27 - the committee will discuss and decide on a sanction for the two cabinet ministers. Until then, tourism minister Bartolo and Gozo minister Camilleri can write to the committee to explain their position.

According to the Standards Law, the sanction can take the shape of one of three things: demanding an apology from the ministers, asking the House of Representatives to take measures “it deems fit” or “demand repayment for sources improperly used”.  

During Thursday's meeting, Speaker Anglu Farrugia suggested that the committee considers recouping the funds handed to Muscat for the work she did not carry out.

According to the report by the Standards Commissioner, Bartolo’s then-girlfriend and private secretary Amanda Muscat was first promoted to the tourism minister’s consultant with a salary of almost €62,000 in 2020. She was then promoted again as a consultant to the Gozo minister with an even higher salary of €68,000.

In practice, Muscat continued to work as Bartolo’s private secretary, but on a much higher, consultant’s pay, even when she was, on paper, employed by Camilleri. 

Bartolo and Muscat have since tied the knot. 

As calls for the ministers’ resignations grew, Robert Abela stood firm behind Bartolo and Camilleri - both of whom are considered loyal allies to the prime minister.

In a recent interview, Abela said that the circumstances of this case differed fundamentally from those of Justyne Caruana, who resigned as minister in 2020 after revelations of an abusive contract awarded to her partner Daniel Bogdanovic.

“The facts in this case are different.  The circumstances do not warrant Bartolo or Camilleri stepping down from their ministerial duties,” he said.

Asked whether Muscat would be asked to reimburse the money, the prime minister would not say, insisting that the controversy revolves around a €16,000 discrepancy in her pay. 

“In Muscat’s case, the discrepancy isn’t €68,000. It’s €16,000. Naturally, this will now progress to the parliamentary committee stage, where further discussion is needed,” he said. 

A spokesperson for the prime minister later said the €16,000 figure referred to net gains and did not include taxes and social security contributions.

The OPM spokesperson confirmed that the discrepancy in gross terms was €23,026.  

The OPM clarification followed a Times of Malta fact check.

'Not prudent to comment now'

Contacted following the vote, Bartolo told Times of Malta it was "not prudent" to comment at this time and that he will be making his submissions to the committee.

"I've already said what I had to say in public," he said, adding that he will respect whatever decision the committee took.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard, who is a member of the committee, told Times of Malta following the vote that he had no problem with the report being adopted. 

He added that the standards commissioner had among others recommended changes to the manual on recruiting public officials and these should be implemented as soon as possible.

Asked whether Bartolo and Camilleri should resign, now that the committee has adopted the report, Attard said the committee's procedures were ongoing.

PN MPs Mark Anthony Sammut and Ryan Callus said they were endorsing the report in its entirety.

'Abela should ensure they resign'

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech meanwhile told Facebook followers that the committee's vote reflected the national sentiment that Bartolo and Camilleri could no longer retain their ministerial roles.

"Today, Abela remains isolated, on his own defending Bartolo and Camilleri.

"Following the committee's decision Abela should ensure they resign. He should otherwise fire them.

"However, Abela is compromised as he is not free to decide. Abela is a prime minister who is only interested in saving his own skin. Malta needs a prime minister and government that prioritises the national interest. Malta needs a change."

'Bartolo and Camilleri have been found guilty'

In a statement following the vote, the PN said the committee had found Bartolo and Camilleri "guilty".

"Now that the report has been adopted, and Bartolo and Camilleri have been found guilty of breaching the Code of Ethics for Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries, Abela has no option but to dismiss the two ministers if they do not resign voluntarily," the party reiterated.

The PN said the prime minister and the two ministers have, for weeks, shirked responsibility, claiming they would wait for the committee's conclusions.

"In this case, for reasons unknown, Abela is applying a double standard. While he refuses to dismiss Bartolo and Camilleri, he immediately sacked former minister Justyne Caruana as soon as the report in her case was published, even before the committee convened to decide whether to adopt it," PN said.

"Aside from the fraud involving public funds in the phantom job of Bartolo's wife, the government has also been caught in a web of lies and inconsistencies in its attempt to defend its ministers. On two separate occasions, Abela claimed he was the one who dismissed Muscat, contradicting Camilleri, whose Head of Secretariat testified under oath that he terminated her contract because her work with the ministry was completed."

PL reports PN to Speaker

Reacting to PN's statement, the PL said no parliamentary committee had found any ministers guilty of any fraud, as the Opposition was "falsely trying to imply with its usual fixation towards fake news".

The word “fraud”, just like the word “phantom job”, were only invented by Grech and could not be found in the report, the PL said.

"The PN believes it can use the standards commissioner as it wants and as it pleases, even by attributing to it declarations that were never said by the Chief Justice Emeritus.

"In light of this deception, Minister Jonathan Attard and Parliamentary Secretary Andy Ellul, as government members on the standards committee, have written a formal complaint to the Speaker of the House to investigate and order the appropriate provisions on the way the PN is trying to mislead.

"It is incredible how the PN pontificates on ethical values and comes out lying at the first opportunity," the party said.

Instead of continuing to make up fake news, Grech should see which of his MPs are absent from work and paid from public funds, the PL warned.