Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri fared much better than former tourism minister Clayton Bartolo did in the parliamentary committee hearing on the Standards Committee report about a €70,000 consultancy job that Bartolo’s wife, Amanda Muscat, was given at the Gozo ministry.
The Labour Party representatives agreed with action to be taken against Bartolo, who was dismissed from the Party in relation to a different scandal that has come to light in which Amanda Muscat is suspected of receiving €50,000 in kickbacks from a deal with former cyclist Valerio Angoli.
Yet Justice Minister Jonathan Attard and MP Andy Ellul defended Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri, saying he “humbly” accepted the conclusions of the Standard Commissioner’s report.
At the parliamentary committee, the PN presented a motion based on four recommendations: A full refund of the money Amanda Muscat received for a job she was not qualified for and did not do, that both ministers apologise in parliament, that they would both be suspended from the House for 30 days, and that Prime Minister Robert Abela demand the resignation of Clint Camilleri.
The two parties did not agree on the amount to be refunded, with the PN insisting it should be the full amount Muscat received when appointed consultant. “She did not do the job for which she was paid, and the Standards Commissioner report confirms this,” the PN representatives, Ryan Callus and Mark Anthony Sammut, insisted.
“We have two cases, two ministers. Clayton Bartolo acknowledged he fell short. Clint did not acknowledge any mistake. There is no apology,” Sammut said.
The government members on the committee said the PN was trying to grasp at straws even when an agreement had been reached to adopt the Standards Commissioner’s report, adding that the PN was after “a witch hunt”.
Justice Minister Attard said the Opposition was acting to drum up support for a protest being organised next week, and to score political points.
On the points in the motion presented by the PN, the Speaker agreed that Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri should be admonished but, together with government representatives, dismissed the need for an apology in parliament.
The Speaker also agreed with the government representatives on the committee against the proposed suspension of 30 days for both MPs.
The Speaker agreed that Clayton Bartolo must apologise to parliament for the scandal involving his wife.
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They listen to their Master’s voice.
Minister Clint Camilleri has ‘humbly accepted the conclusions of the Standard Commissioner’s report – as his defence ‘attorney’ stated in Parliament.
I was under the impression that it is only the Divine Judge who can read a transgressor’s disposition about a misdeed attributed to him.
As the repentant psalmist wrote ‘A humble and a contrite heart Thou shalt not dismiss, O Lord’
Fudging the issues again? What will it take for Government officials to be held accountable for stealing from every tax payer in Malta for their personal gain or that of family members or acquaintances?
So Mr & Mrs Minister loaded their pockets with a fake consultancy salary of 70,000 and now it is alleged that Mrs Minister during 2023/4 received some 50,000 in kickbacks from a company connected to cycle clubs who received huge amounts of money in sponsorships from Mr. Minister’s Tourism Authority.
The Prime Minister says he learnt about the second heist from the FIAU report as disclosed by the Times and immediately acted by “sacking” his appointee. Pardon my laughing aloud.
And then came the Speaker’s casting vote. Give back 16,000 of the 70,000 and say sorry again because your first sorry is no longer sufficient.
And now Bartolo will get a termination pay out as a “resigning” minister probably in excess of the 16,000 he is refunding.
Scammers, the whole lot of them.
I’m a bit confused here, surely the theft of money and fraud is a matter for the Police to action, not some jumped up ad hoc Mafia committee. Mr Gafa you are conspicuous by your absence yet again, this working from home does not apply to you.