Repubblika requests Standards investigation into Aaron Farrugia no-show in Parliament

NGO Repubblika has requested an ethics investigation by the Standards Commissioner into the behaviour of Minister Aaron Farrugia on Tuesday after he refused to enter the Chamber.

On Wednesday, Speaker Anglu Farrugia already flagged shortcomings by Aaron Farrugia for refusing to show up during parliamentary question time in which Delia was addressing the Transport Malta issue.

A few hours earlier, a video was published showing serious abuse by employees of Transport Malta, which falls under the remit of Farrugia’s ministry.

“We understand that this behaviour is a serious serious violation of the Code of Ethics of Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries, even more so when media indicated that he was in the Parliament building,” it said.

Repubblika said it is worried Parliament is forgetting its mission of scrutinizing the Government.

“I kindly ask you to investigate this behaviour of Minister Farrugia and to make the recommendations that seem appropriate to you,” Repubblika President Robert Aquilina said.

The job of standards commissioner is still vacant. The Prime Minister has put forward the name of former chief justice Joseph Azzopardi for the role of standards commissioner that was vacated last September by George Hyzler. However, the Opposition has so far expressed reservations on the former judge.