Updated | Gozo minister slams 'baseless' reports to Standards czar after being cleared of breaching ethics

Updated at 8:10pm with Arnold Cassola's statement

Gozo minister, Clint Camilleri has been absolved by the Standards Commissioner following an investigation into allegations made by independent candidate, Arnold Cassola in 2021. 

Cassola had called for the Standards Czar to investigate Camilleri over what he had alleged were works in a Natura 2000 site that were commissioned without the Planning Authority's permission. Cassola had stated that this was done in order to cater to service providers on Comino that happened to be Camilleri's canvassers, as well as that the minister had issued a direct order for the works to Labour Party Organisational Secretary, William Lewis.

In his report the Standards czar noted that while the Planning Authority had granted permission for the works in Gozo, it was "strange" that the site in question had not needed any works for hundreds of years. "This Office does not have the jurisdiction on the Authority," the report notes, as the Standards Commissioner expressed his solidarity with the Office of the Ombudsman and its findings. In its report, the Office of the Ombudsman had found that the Comino projects Camilleri had authorised lacked the required approvals.

On Facebook, Camilleri stated that the Standards Commissioner decided not to investigate these matters further after his own investigation. Calling the allegations "baseless," Camilleri said that the aforementioned works on Comino were given the green light by the Planning Authority, and were not meant to accommodate service providers on the island. The minister also noted that the Commissioner commented on how issuing direct orders does not necessarily constitute an abuse of power. 

"It is crucial that this office is not used in an unjust and abusive manner," Camilleri wrote, "by those who are filling this office with lies and baseless reports."

Camilleri also noted that he could not understand how one can put forward a complaint to the Commissioner without being obliged to substantiate claims. "We're ending up in a ridiculous situation where one files reports haphazardly without facing consequences," he added. 

"The law should be just with everyone," Camilleri concluded.

Statement from Arnold Cassola

Meanwhile, Arnold Cassola noted that the Standards czar has expressed his solidarity with the Ombudsman. As a result, the Ombudsman had issued an immediate stop order to the works, suggested that fines be issued, and ordered that the sensitive site be returned to its pre-construction state.

According to Cassola, the Standards Commissioner claims that the conflicting views of the Ombudsman and the Planning Authority place him in a difficult situation since he lacks the technical expertise to further investigate the situation.