Former ONE radio show host Manuel Cuschieri has been appointed a member of the government’s Welfare Committee. 

The appointment, which is valid for a year starting on July 18, was made public through the Government Gazette.

The members of the committee are selected by the Social Policy and Children’s Rights Ministry. The committee is tasked with administering government funds to institutions and advising the minister on welfare issues. 

According to the law, the committee has to be made up of at least eight members and must include two members who are medical practitioners, a member from each side of the House of Representatives and a member each from the elderly, social security and health departments. 

The other members are chosen from among those working with social welfare institutions or “other persons who, in the opinion of the minister, are qualified to serve on the committee”. 

Cuschieri’s appointment comes just a month after the former Labour Party president, who has been a regular fixture on the party’s radio and television for some 25 years, announced on Facebook that his show Linja Diretta (direct line) had been cancelled.

He has since taken to broadcasting the show on Facebook. The latest episode, aired on Monday, had over 3,000 views. Previous episodes saw as many as 6,000 people watching the live show which Cuschieri often broadcasts sitting in his car.

Party sources had said the decision to cancel Cuschieri’s show was taken after he repeatedly defended former prime minister and Labour Party leader Joseph Muscat. 

The decision to axe the radio show triggered an outpouring of support for Cuschieri, with many of his supporters voicing their disappointment on social media.