|
Matthew Vella
A former reporter, Jesmond Bonello, has taken charge of three lucrative government public relations portfolios with his new media and communications company Contenthouse.
Since leaving Allied Newspapers just a few months ago, Bonello has landed PR and communications assignments for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment, and for the National Euro Changeover Committee.
He will be taking charge of a EUR140,000 budget for a public awareness campaign for the environment ministry, which his recently established Contenthouse won by tender. The ministry’s corporate services director Joseph Caruana said Bonello had been chosen “according to technical and financial criteria.”
“Experience was not the main criteria for the award of the tender. The chosen candidate had the best overall percentage points on all the technical and financial requirements for the award of the tender,” Caruana said. “The decision based on these criteria is correct.”
Joseph FX Zahra, chairman of the National Euro Changeover Committee, said Bonello was chosen out of 13 candidates who answered a public call for a “technical service agreement” for the coordination of the communications strategy for the adoption of the euro.
Zahra said the NECC has not employed Contenthouse’s services: “It is Bonello who has been employed, not his firm. He ranked first in both interviews. The process was extremely rigorous and the assessment criteria were thorough and based on technical and expertise credentials.”
Next year the NECC will issue a tender for advertising and design services, but neither Bonello nor his company will be eligible to bid.
Zahra defended Bonello’s credentials: “I see him as a professional person, of high reputation.”
Zahra however did not reveal the fee being paid to Bonello, who will be coordinating the communications strategy for the next two years.
Juggling with his “job” at the NECC, Bonello is also taking care of the CHOGM communications strategy. Ambassador Salv Stellini, the head of the CHOGM task force, was also sparing in detail about how much Contenthouse will be paid to take care of the PR for the Commonwealth meeting: “As you know at the moment the CHOGM Task Force is working out of the Westin. I tried to locate the Contenthouse file here but it seems it is at the ministry in Valletta.”
Stellini did not say what selection process was employed for the choice of Contenthouse.
Jesmond Bonello started his career as a reporter with Radio 101, and later moved on to The Independent and finally at The Times.
mvella@mediatoday.com.mt
|
