Owen Bonnici spends €140,000 on ‘space policy’ – via direct order

Minister Owen Bonnici, who was responsible for Equality and Innovation before the March elections, spent 140,000 of taxpayers’ money on a national space strategy for Malta – an area that is an unlikely candidate for Malta’s economy due to the island’s lack of experience, expertise or history in the field.

The report, commissioned via direct order, that revealed this information – a document that begins with a declaration that “Malta does not intend to launch any space rockets” soon – was written by KPMG, one of Malta’s largest auditing firms which has no apparent history of any sort of research in the space sector.

So far, KPMG, led on this reporting by its Tax Services Partner Juanita Brockdorff, has already invoiced the government for around 140,000.

Malta’s space policy is coming soon according to the new Space Taskforce

According to the draft document, left in consultation stage for months, Malta also set up a Space Task Force, led by Omar Cutajar. 

Cutajar was an employee of the Malta Business Bureau (MBB) – a business lobby between the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Malta Employers Association and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association – who was hired by Labour in 2013 and given a plum job in Brussels as a research attaché’.

Although the drafting of the island’s space policy has already been underway for more than a year and a half, the final document has not yet been made public, while the Malta Space Task Force website announces that it’s “coming soon”.

Malta’s first contribution to space was in the summer of 2021 when Minister Owen Bonnici attended the launch of Stratos-1 – a space balloon designed to capture aerial pictures of the island.

The balloon’s first launch attempt from Kalkara failed, but it was successfully re-launched later in the evening.

                           

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9 Comments
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Paul Pullicino
Paul Pullicino
1 year ago

The USA’s got Neil Armstrong. We’ve got Owen.

Ġwanni Fenek
Ġwanni Fenek
1 year ago
Reply to  Paul Pullicino

Owen Weakspine.

KLAUS
KLAUS
1 year ago

What is the difference between Italy and Malta?

Over Italy only the sun laughs.

KLAUS
KLAUS
1 year ago
Reply to  KLAUS

… over Owen Bonneci the own party with the whole WORLD!
(What an expensive joke he is.)

Lawrence Mifsud
Lawrence Mifsud
1 year ago

Could we beat D. Trump at it?

Philip Micallef
Philip Micallef
1 year ago

A space policy is a complex subject and needs to match the strengths of the jurisdiction in terms of geographical position, education of its scientists as well as which niche of the vast subject country needs to position itself. Was honored when Chief Executive of the Bermuda Regulatory Authority to have participated in a space policy for Bermuda which has now been implemented and today is a world class satellite observation center.

KLAUS
KLAUS
1 year ago

The thing is that the money is most likely given to MAFIA, not to invest.

The
The
1 year ago

Ara jien ma nispatizzax la ma owen u lanqas ma dan il gvern imma meta nara “the island’s lack of experience, expertise or history in the field.” Nargumenta li that is what innovation is i.e. trying what hasn’t been tried. Jekk ma tibdiex minn ximkien qatt ma tista t’avvanza eh? Mela please taqaex ghal.mediokrita ta dan il-gvern u ahsbu fit-tul

Greed
Greed
1 year ago

Noddy seems to be malta biggest balloon or is it buffoon,answers on the back of a postage stamp please

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