Wife of Agriculture Minister’s Head of Secretariat appointed as board director of Food Safety and Security Authority

Liliana Curmi, who is married to the Agriculture Minister’s Head of Secretariat, Victor Curmi, was appointed as a director on the board of the Food Safety and Security Authority despite having no known experience in food safety and supply chain security.

The appointment, which is valid for three years, marks the second time Liliana Curmi was appointed to this board. She has been serving as director on this board since August 2022.

On her Facebook profile, Curmi also states that she serves as assistant director within the Ministry for Gozo and Planning, and that she’s held this position since June 2021.

Her husband, Victor, is a close ally of Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo and is known as one of Refalo’s staunchest supporters in Gozo. Curmi himself also holds multiple roles, since he serves as mayor of Xagħra’s local council.

The Curmis have followed Refalo around pretty much everywhere since the Labour Party’s oldest veteran became a member of Cabinet in 2013.

While Victor Curmi served as a loyal canvasser, Liliana Curmi was also previously appointed to the Wine Regulation Board and as a director on Gozo Channel’s board when Refalo was still Minister for Gozo.

Victor Curmi also received multiple government appointments: since March 2021, he has been a board member of the Agricultural Advisory Committee, which is now under the remit of Lands Minister Owen Bonnici. The Committee is responsible for assessing agricultural planning applications in Outside Development Zones.

In October 2024, Curmi was also appointed as a member of the board of governors for Riżorsi Agrikoli Malta, a new entity which was supposedly set up to ensure that as much agricultural land as possible is actually used to supply food on the local market.

The rest of the board of the Food Safety and Security Authority (FSSA) has at least two other familiar faces within the Labour Party: the Prime Minister’s brother-in-law, lawyer Albert Zerafa, and tuna farming lobby CEO and lawyer Charlon Gouder,

The generous distribution of state roles to Labour Party loyalists who are often not qualified for the roles they are meant to serve is one of the most common forms of political patronage in Malta, especially since the PL swept to power in 2013.

Earlier this week, The Shift reported how the Agriculture Minister’s daughter and mayor of Xewkija, Simona Refalo, was appointed as a member of the board of directors of Malta Med Air, in spite of the 21-year old law student’s obvious lack of expertise in the field of aviation management.

The Shift sent questions to the Agriculture Ministry to obtain an explanation as to why Curmi, Zerafa, and Gouder were appointed to the FSSA’s board when they have no relevant experience in the sector and how much these board members are paid for their role. No answers were forthcoming by publication time.