Economy Minister Silvio Schembri has gone on the offensive over The Shift’s report about his constituency office in Luqa and attempted to belittle his opposition shadow minister in parliament for asking him to clarify the matter.
But in the process of trying to ridicule the PN’s spokesperson for lands Rebekah Borg, by telling her she “was new and didn’t know parliamentary rules”, he admitted that he is abusing public funds by using publicly-paid employees to staff his private constituency offices.
Following up on a story published recently by The Shift, Borg asked the minister to explain who owns his Luqa constituency office and to declare how much he is paying for the lease.
The office does not form part of Schembri’s ministerial portfolio, it is his private constituency office where he meets with potential voters.
But instead of replying, the visibly uncomfortable minister avoided answering, mocked the opposition MP for asking questions and accused her of not being familiar with the House’s standing orders.
“I know she is new here and doesn’t know the rules about how to table questions. She should look at standing order 26,” the minister said while trying to berate the MP with his side of the aisle.
However, Borg stood her ground and insisted on a reply by explaining the rule the minister was incorrectly quoting stipulating that ministers should be asked about everything involving public affairs.
“Since using public employees for his personal constituency office falls under public affairs, can the minister say whether he is using government-paid employees to man his constituency office,” Borg retorted.
Clearly caught on the wrong foot, Schembri admitted he was deploying members of his private secretariat to his Luqa constituency office.
He argued that members of private secretariats are employees who assist the minister.
“I know that Nationalists don’t like the way we are close to the people, but that is what we are doing to keep people on our side,” he said.
Members of ministers’ private secretariats are paid with taxpayer funds to assist ministers in their duties. This does not, however, include their personal constituency offices.
The Shift has revealed that the lands minister is currently operating two constituency offices – one in Luqa and the other in Siggiewi – that are located in apartment blocks built by leading developers who also form part of the Malta Developers Association’s executive council.
So far, the minister and the blocks’ developers – Paul Attard, a shareholder in GAP Developments and Anton Camilleri, who is behind the Villa Rosa development – are refusing to explain.
A perfect example for what the PLers mean by ‘being close to the people’ and I would rather keep them at the utmost distance to myself.
I wonder whether these staff members are doing what they were told by the also young minister with or without their consent as this article clearly shows that constituency work is outside their normal duties. But with the PL in govt, private business and official duties always mix and one is rather used to that kind of ‘ministerial procedures’. I rather take it that this staff is left without any choice if they won’t risk losing their job, even when it contravenes regulations, as pointed out in this article.
Good of Ms Borg to stay her ground and make the minister become an embarrassment to himself.
It is high time to start having total transparency with regard to these political secretariats, filled up with persons of trust who are mostly under qualified and over paid when compared to civil servants occupying posts in same scales. It would be interesting to send FOIs to all Ministries, in order to provide Shift News with all the names of these people, their qualifications, the salary scales to which they are assimilsted, and their annual salary including allowances, to attest their suitability. I am convinced that 3 out of 4 of these persons of trust are not qualified enough to hold the positions they are currently occupying.
All the oratorical charm, wit and skills of a tube of toothpaste…
It’s a bit rich of an upstart brought in from the school playground to say that someone is new and doesn’t know the rules. This comes from a boy whose ministry has been laid bare except for the name following his Blockchain Island debacle.
The mix of ministerial arrogance and the servility of the speaker is toxic. Farrugia knows Schembri is inventing a rule which gets him out of admitting that he is corruptly abusing public funds, and Farrugia knows that his job is gone the moment he sticks up for what’s right.
Farrugia’s job is gone the moment he sticks up for what’s right, indeed!!
He did just that back in 2013, didn’t he.
He also got stabbed in the back – and was elected to the hoourable post of Speaker of the House. wasn’t he!!
Bring him to the judge. 40 times at least.
Resign!