PA CEO Johann Buttigieg refuses to disclose former clients

Planning Authority CEO Johann Buttigieg has refused to divulge which companies he gave his planning consultancy services to, despite recently stating that the invoices he issued “are public knowledge, and one can access them”.

Buttigieg was working as a planning consultant before he was appointed PA CEO and tasked with clearing the authority’s case backlog.

On the Andrew Azzopardi show earlier this month, the CEO was quizzed about any conflict of interest he might have due to his previous work as a consultant.

He acknowledged working for developers like Michael Stivala but insisted he had represented people and entities from all walks of life, including objectors, adding that the work he did is accessible to the public.

“The invoices I issued are public, and one can access them,” the CEO said.

Following his comments, Times of Malta asked Buttigieg to list the companies, individuals and entities who made use of his consultancy services.

Buttigieg did not provide those details, saying instead: “What I meant by my statement is that my previous professional involvement with the industry, including the fact that I was remunerated for my services through invoices, is public knowledge. All income I received was declared to the tax authorities, which makes it part of the public domain.”

Buttigieg said he has severed his professional ties with the industry since being appointed executive chairman of the Planning Authority.

“As is expected in any consultancy profession, my duty was to act according to the brief and with full loyalty to my client and professional ethics. Now, in my capacity as executive chairman of the Planning Authority, my loyalty is fully aligned with the authority’s mission and objectives set out in the Development Planning Act,” he said.

Appointed in January

Buttigieg was appointed to head the PA last January, having already served as the authority’s top official for six years between 2013 and 2019. After stepping down, Buttigieg was made CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority.

His first stint at the helm of the authority was often plagued by accusations of conflict of interest and suspicions over his pay packet, which topped €100,000 annually.

In 2018, Buttigieg was found to have paid €8,750 to fly a PA board member, Jacqueline Gili, to and from Malta by private jet on the eve of a board meeting concerning the controversial db Group’s City Centre mega-development in Pembroke.

Gili, who had been enjoying a family holiday in Sicily, remained silent throughout the meeting, only to vote in favour of the project before hopping back on the private jet to Sicily.

Earlier in his career, while still working as a case officer, Buttigieg was found to have hidden a potential conflict of interest when he was assigned to review a permit application to build the National Aquarium in 2011. The application had been filed by Adrian Buttigieg, godfather to one of Johann Buttigieg’s children and his wife’s business partner.

Buttigieg also faced criticism for his relationship with Yorgen Fenech, telling the magnate in 2019, “we can do business whenever you like,” after Fenech proposed a joint property deal.

By the time the pair’s relationship was revealed in 2021, Buttigieg had moved on to the MTA, sparking calls for his resignation from the tourism body.

Buttigieg also courted controversy during his three-year stint in the tourism sector.

In December 2019, he handed Konrad Mizzi an €80,000 consultancy contract, just a fortnight after Mizzi stepped down as tourism minister at the height of the 2019 political crisis.

The contract was promptly scrapped by then-tourism minister Julia Farrugia once the news had emerged.