With just a few days for parliament to wrap up its year and rise for the Christmas holidays, Prime Minister Robert Abela is yet to table the annual declarations of assets of members of his cabinet.
According to the ministerial code of ethics, all ministers and parliamentary secretaries must declare all their assets and those of their spouses/partners by March of each year.
The prime minister publishes these through parliament, usually as soon as the House reconvenes following the summer recess.
The spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister, Edward Montebello, did not reply to questions on why the declarations had not been submitted, nine months after they were due. He did not state when Abela planned to table these documents in parliament.
So far, the latest published declarations of assets date back to 2022. When published, the declarations became a hot topic as many ministers, including the prime minister, did not declare the assets and bank deposits held by their spouses even though the rules obliged them to do so.
A counter-narrative created by those in government implied the spouse’s declarations were no longer necessary. This is not true.
The Shift questioned why the prime minister was trying to give the wrong impression and turned to the Standards Commissioner, who confirmed that all members of Cabinet, including the prime minister, must list their spouse’s assets in their annual declarations.
The prime minister’s last declaration of assets raised questions about whether Abela was using undeclared assets held by his wife Lydia to pay for property acquisitions without declaring them as required. This is because, despite purchasing a new property in Gozo in 2022, Robert Abela’s declared savings increased and did not reflect the expenditure on the property.
Robert Abela had insisted that his family’s income for 2022 stood at just €65,000 – his salary as prime minister.
This prompted independent candidate Arnold Cassola to ask the Standards Commissioner to investigate.
Following revelations by The Shift, Cassola had sent a request to the commissioner noting that while in 2022, Abela bought land in Xewkija for €180,000, this was not reflected in the asset declaration. He noted that the prime minister’s declared assets did not decrease by the equivalent amount. Instead, there was a slight increase.
“Since the prime minister does not have the gifts of the magician Houdini, it would be wise for Dr Abela to clearly explain to the Maltese taxpayer the origin of this unexplained wealth,” Cassola said in his letter to the Commissioner.
No reply has been issued yet by Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi.
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I can hardly see any other option here than to sue the would-be dictator with at least 40 SLAPP suits.
Of course, we know that his statements seem to be taken out of the realm of fantasy, but it is an official document, which can fall horribly on his feet after his activity.
An ordinary Gahan like myself is under general suspicion when making money transfers, banks and tax authorities asking for detailed documentation. Guilty of money laundering until proven innocent, so to say. Maltese Politicians and PEPs on the other hand buy villas and yachts far beyond the means of their annual ministerial and secretarial salaries and no questions are raised. Even career politicians who never did any other job than being politicians with relatively modest salaries. No alarm bells seem to ring. And as for the declaration of assets: just put it in the name of the spouse. Easy fix!
As Christmas approaches and gifts are shared amongst friends and family, the Prime Minister is seemingly ensuring his family and friends ( a.k.a ministers) are being given their presents early by not having to declare their assets.
What a generous benefactor he is!!
Tajtni ferha PRIM JIEN PENSJONANT u kelli paga media u pensjoni UKOLL inhosni MILJUNARJU HDEJK.
PRIM TAHSEB LI HAWN NIES JAHSBU B MOHHOM U MHUX XI GAHAN LI JATTENDU GHAL PRIEDKA TAL HADD LI THOBB TITMEJJEL BIEHOM SE JEGHMNUK?
If you own a restaurant, all tax declared, all papers reflect that you paid your taxes but the tax department says we do not believe this is all you made and for 1 bottle of wine the tax department calculates 4 people had a 3 course meal they then add a 500 percent on top plus penalties and demand that they want another 150000 in taxes from the small business owners. The people that they are doing this to don’t own expensive yachts or properties or any assets to suggest they made this type of money, they just make enough to keep going day to day. But guess what you need to prove what they say isn’t true, because even though nothing in the paper work indicates tax evasion they don’t care as long as they steal from the little people that work 7 days a week trying to make ends meet. I guess this is how they pay for their lavish lifestyle, take from the poor and give to the rich.
Happens to all small businesses not just restaurants. The tax authorities make tax bills based on fantasy incomes, and when one asks for rectification they insist you first pay ALL the tax based on their fictitious ‘calculations’, promising that you will get the difference back later. Which obviously takes years…if you get some money back at all. Screwing with small and middle size enterprises, the pillar of the economy, is no good idea. But who cares about long term consequences, politicians make hay while the sun shines….