[WATCH] Cabinet reshuffle not a demotion, Ian Borg says despite losing construction and Lands Authority

Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg loses the construction and Lands Authority responsibilities in the latest Cabinet reshuffle but insists this is not a demotion but rather a confirmation of the good work he has carried out so far

Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg
Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg

Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg has said that a Cabinet reshuffle carried out over the weekend was not a demotion, but rather a confirmation of his good work despite losing two key elements of his portfolio.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Robert Abela reshuffled his Cabinet just eleven months into his premiership.

In the reshuffle, Borg lost Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius, responsible for construction, to the environment ministry, and the Lands Authority to the economy ministry.

“I don’t think it was a demotion, but rather a confirmation of the ministry’s hard work,” he said when asked for his reaction on Monday morning, during the inauguration of a hanging garden on the Hamrun-Santa Venera bypass with his colleague, Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia.

Borg said the discussion with the Prime Minister, primarily revolved around where junior minister Chris Agius would be placed in the renewed portfolios. 

Speaking on his new responsibilities, Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia said that he will continue the work carried out by Borg's ministry in terms of the construction industry.

“We will continue working on the path laid out by the previous ministry. Planning needs to be done intelligently and so does construction,” he said.

Farrugia went on to say that construction must also be taken into a climate change perspective. 

“We must ensure that new construction projects are in line with the country’s carbon neutrality goals, and so must guarantee that new buildings abide by a plan which will be announced in the coming weeks,” he said. 

Asked if he will be laying out a new direction for the construction industry, Farrugia said that the pillars for future work have already been laid out by Borg’s ministry, and he will work towards implementing the country’s vision.

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