Gozo Minister ordered to reveal contracts given to his architect ‘friend’

The Gozo Ministry has been ordered to reveal all contracts awarded since 2017 to Architect Godwin Agius, a close associate of Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri and his former work colleague.

The Information and Data Protection Appeals Tribunal, Chaired by lawyer Anna Mallia, endorsed an earlier decision by the Data Protection Commissioner to uphold an FOI request by The Shift and ordered the Ministry to comply without further delay.

The Ministry has been opposing a request to reveal all the contracts given to Agius for the last two years, citing confidentiality and commercial sensitivity, amid its delaying tactics.

However, as already declared by the Data Protection Commissioner, Mallia insisted that since Agius is being paid through public funds, the Ministry cannot use such excuses to shield itself from transparency and accountability.

In 2023, as part of a broader investigation by The Shift into the close ties between Minister Camilleri and Agius, from Zebbug, an FOI request was made to reveal all the contracts that had been made.

During the investigation, it was found, as also confirmed by an NAO report, that Agius was given a €700,000 direct order by Minister Camilleri to conduct verification works in connection with the rebuilding of an arterial road that connects Nadur to Ghajnsielem.

The works, which took five years to complete, were initially estimated to cost around €10 million but ultimately ended up costing double the projected amount.

The NAO identified several discrepancies in the approved payments made and supposedly verified by Agius, and no documentation was available to confirm that the work had been completed.

During the investigations, allegations had also surfaced that work was carried out on fields adjacent to the new road through the same contractor,  paid millions for extra work.

The Ministry denied that public funds were used for private works.

Agius is a well-connected architect who acts as a counting hall agent for the Labour Party during the elections.

He has been given lucrative government jobs since 2013, first at Enemata and then through other government agencies and Ministries.

Currently, he also serves as the Chairman of Interconnect – the government agency responsible for the multi-million-euro installation of the second interconnector between Ragusa in Sicily and Malta.

Originally, Agius and Minister Camilleri were work colleagues in the same architectural office, Med Design, owned by former Labour Minister Charles Bugahiar.

Since Camilleri became Minister, Agius was given numerous significant assignments by the Gozo Ministry and was also employed on the Minister’s instructions at the Gozo Regional Development Authority, a satellite agency of the Gozo Ministry.

As soon as Camilleri became Planning Minister, Agius was also appointed to serve on the Executive Council of the Planning Authority, the most powerful decision-making body of the permits regulator.

An investigation by The Shift had revealed even closer ties between the Minister and Agius.

It resulted that for some time, Agius used a property belonging to the Minister’s mother in Nadur as his architectural office. The same address was used by the Minister to declare as his residence for electoral purposes when he lived in Victoria.

The Shift was provided legal assistance by lawyers Andrew Borg Cardona, Matthew Cutajar and Eve Borg Costanzi.