Former Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana has been awarded a one-year €48,000 contract by direct order to provide legal services to the Lands Authority.

The matter was raised in Parliament on Tuesday by Opposition MP Chris Said who referred to a list of direct orders published in the Government Gazette.

“How can a government backbencher keep the government under scrutiny if the same MP is being paid €48,000?” he asked.

How can a government backbencher keep government under scrutiny if the same MP is being paid €48,000?- Chris Said

“The government is persisting in such practices despite the warnings from the Standards Commissioner and the Venice Commission,” he added.

Caruana was forced to resign last January after Times of Malta reported how her husband, former deputy police commissioner Silvio Valletta, had a close friendship with alleged Caruana Galizia murder mastermind Yorgen Fenech.

The direct order was published in the Government Gazette

Said was speaking during a debate on amendments to the Ombudsman Act which will be put to the vote on Wednesday.

The Opposition will be voting against in view of the fact that the government is proposing to introduce an anti-deadlock mechanism so that if there is no agreement on a nominee for the post after two rounds of voting in parliament, the threshold would be lowered from a two thirds parliamentary majority to an absolute majority, effectively giving the government a free hand. 

Said insisted this would be “a step backwards” as it would result in the possibility of the government appointing somebody who does not enjoy the support of the Opposition.

He also suggested that a parliamentary committee should scrutinise recommendations from the Omudsman which the government declined to implement.

The PN MP also expressed concern that in a separate Bill the government was proposing that the Attorney General could only be removed by a two-thirds parliamentary majority, but no such mechanism was being proposed on his appointment, which will remain at the government’s absolute discretion.

'Bill will strengthen Ombudsman'

Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis who moved the Bill, said this would strengthen the Office of the Ombdusman in line with the Venice Commission recommendations. He remarked that independence, impartiality, transparency, objectivity and fairness should be the main pillars of this institution meant to address maladministration.

He noted that the Venice Commission recommended giving a Constitutional status to the Ombudsman.

However, an ombudsman was only effective if he found cooperation from the public administration and the government, he added.

Zammit Lewis said politicians should resist the temptation to attack such institutions whenever they disagreed with their decisions. He insisted that despite the Opposition’s intention to vote against he had no intention to withdraw this Bill but was open to changes.