Former OPM official given director’s post at MTA after being forced out

Former Office of the Prime Minister official Aaron Zahra, who was forced out of Castille as part of Chief of Staff Mark Mallia’s restructuring of Robert Abela’s private secretariat, had already secured himself a lucrative landing spot at the Malta Tourism Authority before his departure, The Shift has learned.

According to multiple sources, Zahra’s removal from the OPM followed months of growing unease within Abela’s inner circle. Once considered one of the Prime Minister’s closest aides, serving as his events manager and chairman of Festivals Malta, Zahra had become increasingly isolated after falling out of favour with senior officials at Castille.

Sources described him as having become arrogant and increasingly mistrusted, making enemies within the administration before Mallia eventually decided to remove him from the Prime Minister’s team.

Yet, before the restructuring was completed, Zahra’s future had already been secured.

The Shift has established that, just a few months before the general elections, the Malta Tourism Authority, under the remit of Minister Ian Borg, published an internal call for applications for a newly created post of director responsible for events.

The new directorship immediately raised questions inside the Authority because responsibility for events was already falling under another director, Kieron Bruno, making the creation of an additional senior management post difficult to justify.

At the time, Zahra remained seconded from the MTA to the Office of the Prime Minister, where he had served since 2020 as Abela’s events manager.

Despite continuing to work full-time at Castille, he still applied for the newly created MTA directorship.

According to information obtained by The Shift, Zahra was the only applicant for the position.

He was subsequently selected and appointed, while remaining at the Office of the Prime Minister until after the electoral campaign.

Only after Mark Mallia removed him from Castille did Zahra formally return to the Malta Tourism Authority to take up his newly acquired directorship, complete with the significantly improved financial package attached to the senior executive grade.

The appointment effectively promoted Zahra from an executive position to director in a single move, leapfrogging around five grades within the Authority’s hierarchy without following the normal career progression expected of public officials.

Officials familiar with the Authority’s internal structures said the promotion increased Zahra’s financial package by tens of thousands of euro and has caused widespread resentment among Malta Tourism Authority employees, many of whom are considerably more experienced and senior but never had the opportunity to compete for such a promotion.

Instead, they watched a politically appointed official return from Castille to occupy what several officials described as a tailor-made position created while he was still serving the Prime Minister.

Zahra, from Zurrieq, had joined the Malta Tourism Authority in 2014, when it was managed by Karmenu Vella, elected from the district.

Zahra’s government career has long attracted controversy.

In 2022, The Shift revealed that the Prime Minister had appointed him chairperson of Festivals Malta while he simultaneously served as the Prime Minister’s events manager, giving him influence over millions of euro in public spending on government events. The dual role prompted concerns over conflicts of interest and political interference.

Just months later, Festivals Malta CEO Annabelle Stivala resigned following clashes with Zahra, while board members complained that the agency had become subject to excessive meddling from the Office of the Prime Minister.

Recently,  Zahra was after the role of Executive Chair and CEO of Festivals Malta, but the position was given to Frans Agius instead. As compensation, Zahra was given the role at the Malta Tourism Authority.

The Shift is also informed that Zahra’s wife has recently been placed on the public payroll after being engaged as an adviser to President Myriam Spiteri Debono.