Updated at 4.10pm with Labour statement

A report on questionable army promotions was yet another condemnation of the Labour government's abusive governance which was simply being ignored, the Nationalist Party said on Friday.  

Addressing a press conference, Opposition MP Beppe Fenech Adami reacted to the findings of an Ombudsman investigation into promotions in the Armed Forces top brass.  

Back on February 15 - some 10 weeks ago - the Ombudsman had found that the promotion process was “vitiated”, lacked integrity and was intended to “produce a desired outcome”.

Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud had said that one of the main issues that led to the process being simply “a screen for the choice made” was that two of the members on the selection board had been persons of trust without any specialisation in military affairs.

The controversial promotions in September 2013 included that of the present commander, Jeffrey Curmi, who had leapfrogged from major to brigadier – four promotions – in a matter of months.

Since its publication, Times of Malta has also reported how the Office of the Prime Minister was refusing to implement the recommendations.   

On Tuesday a spokesman for the Office of the Ombudsman confirmed that the government had not yet implemented the recommendations made more than a year ago to correct an injustice suffered by various army officers.

Speaking during Friday's press conference, Dr Fenech Adami said that since the promotions had not been based on merit, they had resulted in people who were competent and qualified, being overlooked, "simply for not being close to the Labour Party and in particular, to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat".

This was also resulting in members of the AFM being demoralised and the AFM suffering a worrying brain drain, he said.

The chain of command in the AFM had lost its moral authority, and officers' sense of justice and career progression had been trampled on.

Although the government did not appear to care, the PN was there to stand up for these people, and to say that someone in this country did in fact care.

This, Dr Fenech Adami said, was just one of the many instances where the government was ignoring warnings about bad governance.  

MEP candidate Dione Borg said the AFM was one of the country’s most important institutions and the ombudsman's report illustrated the importance of the PN’s proposal for important offices to be appointed by a two-thirds parliamentary majority. 

'Fenech Adami owes army an apology' - PL

The Labour Party hit back by attacking Dr Fenech Adami, saying that he had failed the army when he served as "de facto" home affairs minister.

Dr Fenech Adami was a parliamentary assistant within the Home Affairs Ministry between 2010 and 2013. 

The PL said that the government's reaction to the Ombudsman's report about AFM promoitions was within the report itself.