Updated | PM tables Sai Mizzi Liang's contract, payslip in parliament

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has tabled in parliament a copy of Sai Mizzi Liang’s contract in parliament, together with a copy of two contracts which belonged to two former ambassadors in China.

Muscat also tabled a copy of Mizzi Liang’s payslip which proved that the Energy Minister’s earned just over €3,700. The exact net amount according to the payslip is €3,748.920 with a gross pay of €5,059.760.

A copy of Sai Mizzi Liang's pay slip for May was tabled in parliament

“For public scrutiny I am publishing her contract and her payslip after months where the Opposition leader said she earned €13,000 a month,” Muscat said.

This prompted interruptions by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil who said the government should reveal the whole financial package.

“The package is the same as given by the Nationalist administration to ambassadors serving in China and the same given to your friend Richard Cachia Caruana,” Muscat told Busuttil.

Mizzi Liang’s contract includes a one-time settling-in allowance payment, upon posting overseas, a representation allowance equivalent to €3,261 p.a., a one-time outfit allowance payment of €931.75 and an annual child allowance to be paid to a dependent child, equivalent to €1,454 p.a. less allowances received under the Malta’s social legislation.

Muscat had words of praise for the Maltese working in China saying "the return on investment is very good".

Singling out Malta's ambassador to China Clifford Borg Marks and special investment envoy Sai Mizzi Liang, Muscat said Malta was now enjoying these results.

"I can assure parliament that the return on investment of our human resources working in China is very good when one considers the results of their work," Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told the House of Representatives this evening.

Briefing MPs on his recent visit to China, Muscat sought to ensure that whatever salary the Energy Minister's wife was being paid, the money was not being wasted. Controversy on Mizzi Liang's salary raged again last week after she said she earned €3,000 per month. According to the PN, she earns €13,000 a month.

"We have much more to invest in human resources when considering the limited amount we have working in a market of 1.3 billion people. These human resources achieved bigger results than ever achieved over the past 25 years," Muscat said.

In their submissions, the PN made several requests for the publication of Mizzi Liang’s contract and for further clarifications in what ways the memorandum of understanding signed with China was “ground-breaking”.

The Nationalist MPs took Muscat to task over his opening statement when he described the MoU as “the first of its nature” signed between an EU member state and China. Simon Busuttil pointed out that Malta alone had signed six memorandum of understandings with China.

The Maltese government has finalised the process to set up a general consulate in Shanghai, the country's financial and commercial centre.

Through a joint venture between Enemalta and Shanghai Power Electric, Malta will be investing in a European country in renewable energy.

"Our goal is for Malta to serve as a logistics hub and we are currently working on a policy for a logistics industry," Muscat said.