Payback time

Former MFSA CEO Joseph Cuschieri, now Project Green CEO, is back in the news.  And again, it’s not for the right reasons.

Judge Lawrence Mintoff has confirmed that Joseph Cuschieri unjustly and unilaterally terminated the employment of MFSA COO Reuben Fenech while Cuschieri was MFSA CEO.

Fenech had done his best to ensure Cuschieri stuck to public procurement and recruitment rules. Cuschieri sacked him.

Cuschieri wanted to recruit people of his choosing without following standard recruitment processes.  He entered into direct orders without prior approval. He would unilaterally alter employees’ performance bonuses, which had already been decided.

Cuschieri regularly signed consultancy contracts without approval. When Fenech pointed out to Cuschieri that such behaviour did not conform to the rules, Cuschieri resorted to bullying and humiliating him.

The Industrial Tribunal had no doubts about who was in the wrong – and it wasn’t the COO, who was trying his best to ensure things were done properly.

The Tribunal ruled that Fenech had worked “competently and professionally” to reach “objectives according to the rules in the best and most sustainable public interest… It is these attitudes that inspire trust in good governance, which makes (Fenech) competent and professional in his work”.

Cuschieri, the Tribunal ruled, failed to observe rules set out in the staff handbook and “acted unjustly”. The Tribunal ordered the reinstatement of Fenech, payment of €413 688 in compensation, and ordered that all expenses related to the case be paid by the MFSA.

The MFSA leapt to Cuschieri’s defence.  It lodged an appeal in court, which has now confirmed the Tribunal’s decision.  And apart from the €413,688 euro in compensation and the costs of the Industrial Tribunal case, the taxpayer has now been burdened with the additional costs of the appeals case and legal fees.

The details revealed in that court case are shocking.  Cuschieri’s arrogance is simply unbelievable. Without consulting the board of directors, he decided to sack Fenech, telling him, “You are dismissed”.

Cuschieri actually stated, “I had the right to override” public service rules and regulations.

Even Jobsplus raised concerns about Cuschieri’s methods.   “Jobsplus are querying why the MFSA is not following procedures in all the recruitment it is doing”.

When Cuschieri repeatedly entered into direct order contracts without prior approval, he would get angry when approval was delayed.  The Tribunal noted that “logic and good governance dictate that first approval is obtained and then contracts are signed”.

When Cuschieri kept signing consultancy contracts without prior approval and then seeking retrospective approval, the authorities stopped giving their approval.  When Fenech pointed out to Cuschieri that he could not arbitrarily change employees’ performance bonuses decided by the board, Cuschieri opened the door and kicked Fenech out “there and then”.

He arrogantly said, “I am not going to be restricted by a civil servant from some department”.

Cuschieri is still not being restricted by anybody. His practices of ignoring recruitment rules haven’t changed at his new job at Project Green.  Cuschieri has recruited 19 managers with a basic €56,000 salary, costing the state €1 million per year.

In addition, Cuschieri awarded them a raft of perks—“responsibility allowances,” “fuel and car allowances,” “project allowances,” and even a “warrant allowance” despite the fact that the job necessitated that warrant.

Cuschieri’s recruitment process, allegedly tainted with nepotism, is now the subject of an investigation by the Auditor General.

The Auditor General is also investigating Cuschieri’s Project Green over a €1 million direct order awarded to Edwin Mintoff for the Bormla carpark project, in breach of procurement rules.

Now, Cuschieri has awarded former Labour Deputy leader Daniel Micallef a €350,000 contract without any competition for the “greening” of a San Ġwann square. That project was announced with great fanfare in 2023, but no permit has been issued.

The plans for the San Ġwann project have been significantly downscaled from the original. In 2023, Minister Miriam Dalli bragged that San Ġwann “will be the largest and greenest space in Malta”.  She promised the community they would have 7,200 square metres of parking space. The project, Dalli pledged,  will also consist of an aquatic garden, swings, an open theatre, a community and recreational zone and will be surrounded by 350 additional trees.

Cuschieri hasn’t changed.  He’s still inflicting a massive financial burden on the taxpayer through his shady recruitment methods.  He’s still dishing out dodgy direct orders.  His spiteful sacking of Fenech has cost us half a million euro.  Nobody in his right senses would keep Cuschieri as CEO.  It’s time for Labour to cut him loose before he runs up an even bigger bill than he already has.

Cuschieri should be pursued with every legal means possible to ensure he refunds every cent he has cost the state.