Opinion: The Commissioner’s cover up

Have you ever rented a car while on holiday but only paid insurance over a month later? Of course not. Who pays car insurance after the holiday, knowing there wasn’t the slightest scratch on a single hub cap? But Parliamentary Secretary Chris Bonett claims that is what he did.

Bonett was trying to cover up his abuse. The Shift revealed he went on a private holiday with his family to Sicily using his official government vehicle. The Shift asked him pertinent questions about his trip, not once, but twice.

On 20 December, Bonett refused requests for invoices relating to his Sicilian holiday from 25 – 27 November 2022.  Bonett couldn’t provide those invoices.  He didn’t have any invoices.

The invoices for insurance cover, surcharge for use of the vehicle outside Malta and breakdown service were only issued and paid on 31 December 2022 – the last day of the year.

Bonett breached the Ministerial Code of Ethics, specifically Article 5.7, which states, “Ministers shall provide complete and correct information… to the public in general”.

Bonett certainly didn’t.  He refused to answer questions about an issue of significant public interest. When he realised he didn’t have invoices, The Shift asked for, he sought to get those invoices. But only when he felt the burning heat of public scrutiny.

Bonett failed to “exercise caution and prudence with respect to public perception”. More importantly, he withheld information.

He didn’t provide “complete information” even when asked direct questions. He then deviously sought to procure the evidence necessary to exculpate himself of the serious charges of which he was accused.

By procuring those invoices from Vision Car Leasing Ltd, more than a month after his holiday, Bonett attempted to cover up his misdeeds.

But the Standards Commissioner was at hand to cover up Bonett’s cover up.

Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi was asked to investigate Bonett over his Sicilian holiday.  Instead, Azzopardi decided there was nothing to investigate “and therefore… this document will not be published by my office”.

Azzopardi’s two-page document about Bonett’s trip using his official car abroad is pitiful.  The Commissioner conveniently failed to mention the dates of Bonett’s trip.  Nowhere in his report does the Commissioner indicate when Bonett took his holiday. It was essential for the Commissioner to hide the fact that the invoice Bonett presented as evidence was dated more than one month after his trip and weeks after journalists requested them.

Azzopardi is a former Chief Justice. Did he not find anything vaguely suspicious in that delayed invoice?

That alone should have triggered a full investigation.  But Azzopardi’s objective is not to maintain standards but to kill every story exposing Labour’s sleaze.  If a former Chief Justice conveniently overlooks every smoking gun, no wonder our justice system is such a wreck.

The Commissioner bent over backwards to defend Bonett’s shameless abuse. “It is a known fact that there were other officials who occasionally used  it (their official vehicle) to travel overseas with”, the Commissioner wrote to Arnold Cassola, the complainant.

So if others “failed to exercise caution and prudence”, does that give Bonett carte blanche to do the same? Why is the Standards Commissioner finding excuses for the parliamentary secretary? That is not his role.

The Commissioner found every excuse not to investigate Bonett.  And he didn’t. He decided “The Honorable Bonett did not break any specific rule”.

That’s entirely false.  Bonett broke the Ministerial Code of Ethics by withholding information from the public.  He deceived and misled the nation.

He maliciously accused the complainant of mounting a “concerted attempt to damage his reputation” and insisted the complaint was littered with “outright lies”. Everything in Cassola’s complaint was true.

The minister broke the ministerial code by making malicious false claims about those holding him to account.

The Standards Commissioner’s primary role should be to ensure the Ministerial Code of Ethics is observed and to refer those breaking the code to the Parliamentary Standards Committee for appropriate sanctioning.

That Code should be the Commissioner’s bible.  But never once did he reference it in the ridiculously superficial document about Bonett.

Azzopardi conveniently ignored the Code of Ethics. He used the vehicle rental contract to justify Bonett’s use of his official car abroad. But that contract states, “should the client want to use the car outside Malta, the owner is to be advised two weeks in advance”.

Azzopardi didn’t even bother to establish whether Bonett had informed Vision Car Leasing Ltd of his planned trip two weeks ahead.  He didn’t bother investigating or requesting copies of official communication between Bonett and the leasing company.

“Dr Bonett also exhibited the necessary receipts from which it transpires that he paid the additional payments,” the Commissioner stated in his report.

He didn’t bother mentioning that those payments were only made after journalists asked questions. Azzopardi didn’t ask for an explanation as to why that invoice was issued and paid one month late.

Azzopardi decided not to investigate without having the most basic information. His intent was clear.  He wanted to exculpate Bonett. He certainly didn’t hold Bonett to the standards of the Ministerial Code – honesty, integrity, transparency, accountability.

The Commissioner is fulfilling the role Abela assigned him – burying Labour’s sleaze.  Azzopardi overlooked even the most damning evidence, refused to investigate Bonett and didn’t even publish his pathetic report.

Thankfully, Arnold Cassola did.

No wonder Bonett fought so hard in parliament for Azzopardi to be appointed.

During the parliamentary debate on Azzopardi’s appointment, Bonett commented that he was  “confident of obtaining justice through the government’s preferred pick (for Commissioner).”

The Commissioner’s role, Bonett insisted, was “to enable public office holders to clear their name after allegations are made against them”.

He was wrong. But he was right that this was his role under Robert Abela’s administration.