OPM officials removed as part of Robert Abela’s secretariat reorganisation

Two senior Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) officials, Aaron Zahra and Anthony David Gatt, have been removed from their posts as part of a broader reorganisation of Prime Minister Robert Abela’s secretariat led by Chief of Staff Mark Mallia.

Sources familiar with the restructuring told The Shift that both officials will no longer retain their current positions within the OPM and are set to be assigned duties outside Castille as part of the shake-up.

Asked for comments by The Shift, both Zahra and Gatt declined to comment.

Anthony David Gatt, a former ONE TV reporter who later moved to the government’s payroll at Malta Enterprise, is expected to return to the state agency, where he previously served as a chief officer.

Lately, Gatt has served as one of the frontmen of the Vision 2050 exercise, considered a propaganda exercise under the helm of Permanent Secretary Ronald Mizzi, who is currently facing criminal charges connected to the Vitals hospitals “scam”.

Following the elections, Mizzi was rewarded with a new position as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Infrastructure, while Gatt was sent back to his prior position outside the OPM.

Meanwhile, Aaron Zahra, who acted as one of Abela’s closest aides and headed events for the OPM, has yet to be assigned a new role.

The Shift is informed that the changes form part of a wider restructuring exercise being overseen by Mallia.

The reorganisation is understood to aim to streamline the secretariat and address longstanding concerns about its effectiveness and internal management.

Sources said both officials had become increasingly unpopular among colleagues within the OPM in recent months, although no reason has been given for their removal.

Zahra rose to prominence within the prime minister’s secretariat after being entrusted with organising major government events and public engagements. He was later appointed Chair of Festivals Malta while continuing to hold responsibilities within the OPM, a move that raised eyebrows over the OPM’s interference in the organisation of national events and the dishing out of direct orders to contractors close to the Labour Party.

Anthony David Gatt followed a similar trajectory from Labour Party media into senior government positions. After leaving ONE TV, he joined Malta Enterprise and later moved to the OPM’s communications team.

The OPM has not publicly announced the reasons behind the decisions.