Cachia Caruana was paid €240,000 golden handshake when House voted him out

Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella says that Richard Cachia Caruana received €239,085 in severance pay.

No wonder his role as advisor to Lawrence Gonzi was unpaid...
No wonder his role as advisor to Lawrence Gonzi was unpaid...

Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella said that Malta's former permanent representative to the EU, Richard Cachia Caruana, had received €239,085.05 in terminal benefits when he resigned from the post late last year.

Vella said that the golden handshake was composed of his annual salary of €167,476.88, along with a three-month global emolument amounting to €36,453.23.

Vella also said that Cachia Caruana was compensated for 88 days of leave, which amounted to €35,154.92.

On top of that, Vella said, Cachia Caruana also benefited from a transitional allowance that will last for two years from the day of his resignation, which amounts to €5,923.67 monthly.

While the severance lump sum was tax-free, the two-year transitional allowance is taxable.

BACKGROUND
PROFILE The eminence grise
PARLIAMENT Live blog of Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando's speech on Cachia Caruana

In July 2012 after Cachia Caruana tendered his resignation when the House voted him out over his role in the reactivation of Malta's membership in NATO's Partnership for Peace, MaltaToday had revealed that Cachia Caruana's salary was a reported €150,000, apart from expenses for his Ixelles apartment, housekeeping and chauffeur.

Cachia Caruana was paid the top civil service salary and a 10% top-up for a total of over €42,000 a year but also an additional €100,883 in global emoluments that took his salary close to €150,000 a year.

He was paid another €96,000 to rent out his duplex apartment over the artificial lakes in the wealthy Ixelles district, in Brussels, as well as another €75,000 for the payment of the outgoing ambassador's housekeeping, a personal driver, and a police escort.

Cachia Caruana benefited from the highest public sector salary ever paid put by the Maltese government - going head to head with such handsomely-paid civil servants like former Central Bank governor Michael C. Bonello (€128,000), former Communications Authority chairman Philip Micallef and former Malta Environment and Planning Authority chairman Austin Walker (€94,000).

Former foreign minister Tonio Borg had justified Cachia Caruana's 10% top-up of €3,818 as "a recognition of him being one of the most experienced individuals in the service of government, having continuously served in the highest of roles even before 1996."

Cachia Caruana receieved a terminal benefit upon his departure from Brussels, when the Nationalist government lost a vote of confidence in Cachia Caruana; as well as a transitional facility for the next months to assist in his transition from ambassador. The transitional allowance was introduced by Lawrence Gonzi in 2008 to assist former ministers, and the Opposition leader, in phasing-out their high incomes when returning to their private, professional occupations.

After his resignation, Cachia Caruana was retained as an EU advisor to Lawrence Gonzi while Marlene Bonnici was appointed permanent secretary. Cachia Caruana still retained a central role in EU affairs, although he was not paid a new salary, since he was earning a transitional benefit.

avatar
Brilliant after this person had been accused in Parliament of deceiving the Highest institution and voted out of his office by a Parliamentary Majority, he has been given enough compensation to keep 19 families at the rate of 1000 Euro a month. This is after he shamed our countries name by misconduct and yes for working behind all our backs to reach an agreement with an other country on behalf of our country. A right that the Public have given to our Politicians. No I feel that this decision should be revoked.
avatar
Hawn immorru flus il poplu. tinsewx li dan il bniedem ha 50000 LIRI maltin, meta gie attakkat l Imdina u qatt ma ntqal ghalxiex gie attakkat. L aqwa job fl unjoni ewropeja bl aqwa salarju li hemm u issa jigi sfiducjat mill parlament malti u jibqa jisraq min flus il poplu metl ll ekx prim ministru gonzi qalilna li qied jaghmel xoghol bla hlas. xi hadd mill gvern ghandu bzonn jidhol f dan il kaz u jwaqqaf dan l abbuz. grazzi
avatar
So here is one person who can help the PN pay the salaries of their personnel!
avatar
Emmanuel Mallia
Is Cachia Caruana to be blamed for the PN defeat ?! After all he was the adviser of Gonzi, the big looser !And where is his other friend, Gatt, these days- the author of the disastrous PN campaign ?
avatar
Ara li l-poplu kien jaf b'din il hnizrija u bil 5 miljuni li rrelegajna lix Shell minhabba t-tahwid fix-xira taz-zejt, kemm kienet tkun akbar ir-rehba tal-PL. Shame on the Nuts.
avatar
There is no question about it. This administration has got to look into any illegalities committed by the previous administration and get the money back. I cannot believe that the Maltese, being so careful with their money, have been treated as pure bl**dy suckers by the GonziPN money grabbing brigade. No wonder they never wanted to get off their high horses!! Prime Minister and current Ministers ACTION PLEASE!!!
avatar
the PN debt collectors should go knocking on his door first,for some donations for the PN PARTY!!!
avatar
Shame on all of you, why don't you stop all these handshakes for ever.
avatar
And does someone really believe that poor RCC gives a toss as to what happens from now on . With a golden handshake to the tune of 240,000 euros i'm sure that he is having a big laugh over the Maltese Taxpayers including me !!! I just hope that at least his personal police escort is removed asap ....he can surely afford it himself !!
avatar
Rita Pizzuto
Rajtx ghaliex GonziPN bla misthija ta' xejn miles lil Malta bid-dejn. Dawn in-nies jahsbu li huma allay u li Malta ma tistax tghaddi minghajrhom. Veru tal-misthija! Dawn l- istess nies li minkejja ftit jiem fil-gvern qed jghidu li Joseph Muscat mar lura minn kelmtu ghax f'pozizzjonijiet sensitivity lahhar nies kapaci u li mhemmx cans li jittradixxu lil pajjizna u jridu jmexxu l-policies tal-gvern il-gdid. La lil RCC jarrah daqshekk important I ghax ma jlahhquhx kap tal-PN Jew Tawha l-inkarigu li johrog him mid-dejn li Dalhhlu fih fil-Partit. Forsi Issa mill-eluf, Anzi l-miljuni li dahhal minn fuq il-kaxxa ta' Malta u minn fuq a RCC johrog minn butu l-pagi tal- haddiema tal-PN. Hekk jibqghu!
avatar
So, Considering it all from one who lost his ba-ls and got no financial handshakes when I was retired, just my government pension so far. Can I ask: (1) What is this government going to do about it? (2) Dr. Gonzi said that Dr. Sant got a similar handshake when he stopped serving as prim minister. (3) Is this hullabaloo all for propaganda purposes that we the little guys do not have a say to do any thing about it. and (4) can we be allowed to demand action as we the little guys are paying for all this easy money for those who live upstairs.
avatar
Golden handshake? That's a PLATINUM HANDSHAKE! I f he was voted out, HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN OUT, pack his bags and out! SHAME ! If they know SHAME! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ALL THOSE THOUSANDS and what did the people of Malta get in return ~ his contribution and his time as part of the PN's strategy team! SHAME ON YOU DR. GONZI squandering our finances that could certainly be put on better use , investing in health care , education than in your "PROTEGE".... or where you his "PROTEGE"? SHAME ~ SHAME ~ SHAME! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NO wonder the country is in dire straits with your administration or lack of it ! SHAME ON YOU, members of your ex-Cabinet and who ever was involved in such an OBSCENE scandal from our money , our taxes! SHAME ~ SHAME ~ SHAME!
avatar
Kemm huma bravi bi flus in-nies l-ex ufficjali ta GonziPN! Dan ukoll kien kontra is-socjalizmu u 'big government' jew big governmnet tajjeb biss ghalih? Tal-misthija> X'cuc hu Ali Baba?
avatar
Eh €239,085.05! Fine! Convert that to LM and it comes Lm100 000. Isn't that figure the same (or close as damn it) to the two handshakes Lewis Grech received when he was twice removed from Airmalta? The difference is that RCC can claim that he managed to channel millions of euros to Malta from the EU. Can we say that for Grech?
avatar
If RCC resigned, it was he who breached his employment contract. So why was he given such golden hand shake. Has this govt made any workings on the cost to the state for security of police officers at both his houses in Lija and Mdina? I believe he still has them till this very day. Not to mention the police escorts. So apart from this figure one has also to do other calculations.
avatar
This is such a serious problem that the amount of severance pay should be regulated by the constitution, i believe.
avatar
U lilna gonzipn tana 1 euro 16 cent.Minbarra hekk hallew pajjiz fallut staqsu lil Konrad Mizzi u lil Marie Louse Coleiro Preca.
avatar
U lilna gonzipn tana 1 euro 16 cent.Minbarra hekk hallew pajjiz fallut staqsu lil Konrad Mizzi u lil Marie Louse Coleiro Preca.
avatar
Gvern li ha hsieb il-klikka tieghu biss u li seraq lill-poplu. Il-Maltin ikunu stupidi jekk jergghu jtellghu lin-nazzjonalisti fil-poter. Gawdi Richard u hafna minna rridu naraw kif se nghixu minn gurnata ghall-ohra. Prosit Gonzi - haqqek medalja ghal kemm hsibt fil-fqir u fil-poplu kollu. Shame.