Education minister, chairman, overruled as former Labour MP to take over AIMS

A tense tug-of-war between Prime Minister Robert Abela and Education Minister Clifton Grima over who should be nominated CEO of the anti-corruption sports regulator (AIMS) has been settled with Jean Claude Micallef to take control of the Authority.

Sources close to AIMS told The Shift that the stiff resistance of some board members, headed by retired Judge Antonio Mizzi, was suddenly dropped last Monday when the board decided to approve the OPM-backed nomination of Jean Claude Micallef as the Authority’s new CEO.

Micallef will replace Luciano Busuttil, another former Labour MP sacked after pressure from the AIMS chairman.

The Shift reported how instructions given a few weeks ago by the OPM to install Micallef as AIMS’ new CEO were resisted by Mizzi and backed by Education Minister Clifton Grima. They pushed to have Ryan Borg, who currently serves as director of strategy at AIMS, instead.

Borg is a former chief of staff of Minister Grima and his main canvasser in Sliema, his electoral district. He is also a Labour councillor on the Sliema local council.

However, Robert Abela ignored his minister and the chairman’s wishes and ordered Micallef to be offered the CEO’s post.

Grima and Mizzi had no option and dropped their resistance during an urgent board meeting last Monday.

The sources said that other board members who were previously vociferous against Micallef’s nomination also approved the final decision to nominate him.

Set up a few years ago, the Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sports has been marred by internal conflict and has, so far, achieved very few results despite employing some 17 staff members.

Claims of conflicts of interest between some board members and the Authority’s mission have been floating for a long time, preventing the agency from taking bold steps, particularly regarding doping.

He is the son of Labour’s ONE news presenter Manuel Micallef, former husband of the Labour Party’s Head of Communications Norma Saliba.