In yet another letter to the Speaker of the House, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has admitted to giving the wrong information to parliament, after denying reports by The Shift that he had provided the wrong information to the House.
In his second letter on Thursday, the finance minister said that Air Malta Chairman David Curmi is also receiving a €10,000 a year honorarium on top of his €21,500 a month remuneration package.
This, after he had denied The Shift’s report in a letter to the Speaker this week. Now, he has told Speaker Anglu Farrugia that in his reply to a parliamentary question, in which he declared that the Executive Chairman of Air Malta wasn’t receiving any remuneration, he was actually wrong.
Now, the finance minister has discovered that Curmi is also receiving an honorarium as a chairman and member of the board.
The Shift published Curmi’s contract on Tuesday and showed how Caruana, through various parliamentary questions and FOIs, has spent at least 18 months trying to hide the scandalous €21,500 a month contract he arranged for Curmi.
The Minister blamed his blatant omission on Curmi, who he said gave him the wrong information, which led him to mislead parliament in breach of Standing Orders and the Ministerial Code of Ethics.
“Today I was informed by Mr David Curmi, Executive Chairman of Air Malta, that although he does not have an honorarium as a chairman, he is still receiving €10,000 a year as director’s fees (another word for honoraria) as a member of the board.”
Finance Minister Clyde Caruana’s (second) letter to the Speaker on Thursday.
What a bunch of jokers!
I wouldn’t call a Minister’s misleading Parliament on issues of public expenditure a ‘joke’. Some would very rightly say that it is far worse than that – and that it deserves, nay, calls for the Minister assuming full responsibility and not just blaming his underling for providing ‘insufficient’ information so that he himself can get away with it.
In the meantime, what about the Chairman’s ‘reticence’ in supplying the correct information to his Minister and, of course, to the public? Is he still to be trusted as a ‘prudent and faithful’ servant?
Liars not Jokers!
So do the Minister and the Chairman of Air Malta both resign?
Unfortunately the word resignation is not in Malta’s English vocabulary!!!!
Tant serqu li nsew kemm serqu
Qed tara. Mhux jithanzru biss. Jigdbu wkoll. Dak jaghmilhom hniezer intelligenti.
What Curmi tried to hide it damaged the Minister Bravo!
Ghax ma juzax Driver u m’ghandux korrozza Ministerjali , haseb li n-nies huma boloh , ha jirrezenja issa ? u Curmi ? Jew nitnejku bil poplu nistghu Clyde ?
Dak mhux chairman imma HANZIR.
Minister Caruana knew what the Chairman was getting as HE authorized it.Once caught, he had no choice but to admit it.He has to resign. He lied to Parliament and the people.
It isn’t a matter of admission. It is a matter of a resignation.
Maltese politics is arguably the only existing pursuit that pays more than bank heists.
The nation’s beancounter gets one man’s remuneration completely wrong. How can we trust you with the country’s beans?
All of them should resign en bloc. They only admit when they are caught !!!
This blatantly is called corrupt practices. Transparency and good governance non existent.
Bacio la mano Don Caruana
Just WHO is paying this obscene package? Air Malta which is broke, or the taxpayer? If it is the taxpayer, then this salary is an illegal state aid package. I hope the EU is keeping an eye on this, either way
Amateurs leading the country!
Amateurs sabih.
I would rather call them professional fraudsters.
Jiġifieri Clyde Caruana iffirma l-awtorizzazzjoni għas-salarju u ma jafx x’iffirma? Mur afdah!
Kont nahsbek iktar tal affari tieghek sur Clyde u kont nemmen li int iktar serju min shabek.
Kont zbaljat ghax meta bniedem jinqabad jigdeb jitlef il fiducja u tieghe tlifta. Nisugerilek ma tibqax ministru u terga tmur fejn kont ghax iktar ser tohrog ta hmar jekk tibqa fejn int. Tinsiex kemm kont tghid li ghandna bzonn 10 ooo haddiem kull sena biex l ekonomija timxi il quddiem. Qed narawh ir rizultat issa.
Tlift il kritu Caruana. İnt f qoffa wahda mal bqija tal malmalja
Since when does an employer not know what he is paying the employee?