16 positions of trust in previous government’s Home Affairs Ministry

16 people occupied positions of trust in the previous Nationalist government’s Home Affairs Ministry, current Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said. Eight of these people were employed on a full-time basis: a commandant/consultant in the police academy, a Refugee Commissioner, an Assistant Police Commissioner, a secretary within the Permanent Commission against Corruption, a Justice Unit head, a Justice Unit co-ordinater and an usher at the law courts.     

A further five people were employed as part-time advisers within positions of trust- advisers for the correctional services, irregular  immigration and asylum services, security services, Justice Unit, Court of Justice, and the prison.

Abela revealed the list in response to a parliamentary question by Labour MP Anthony Agius Decelis, who had aired questions pertaining to people of trust under the previous administration to current ministers. His questions followed a series of PQs aired by the Opposition to last week about how many persons of trust are currently employed as persons of trust within the government. Last week, several ministers responded that this information ‘is still being collected’.

In response to a separate parliamentary question by Agius Decelis, Infrastrucutre  and Transport Minister Joe Mizzi revealed that his ministry, employed 44 ‘persons of trust’ between 2004 and 2012, 26 of which were listed as advisor positions. He was ostensibly referring to people who were employed within the Transport Ministry and the now-defunct Resources and Rural Affairs Ministry. 

In response to a third PQ by Agus Decelis, Economy Minister Chris Cardona revealed that seven jobs within the Economy Ministry were ‘positions of trust’ between 2004 and 2012- the Freeport Chairman, the personal assistant to the chairman of the Malta Investment Management Company Limited, the Deputy CEO at the Malta Information and Technology Agency (MITA), the public assistant to the chairman of the Malta Communications Agency, the public assistant to MITA’s departmental manager, the Freeports’ security and enforcement manager, and a project leader.