Grech calls for protest outside House during Bartolo address to MPs

Nationalist Party leader has called for a national protest outside the House of Representatives on Monday evening, 18 November at 6pm, in response to the ethics breach investigation that found an abusive employment of a minister’s future wife.

Tourism minister Clayton Bartolo’s then-girlfriend Amanda Muscat was given an “unjustified” salary increase as a policy consultant, a job she was not qualified for, an ethics investigation by the Standards Commissioner revealed. Muscat was promoted from private secretary to policy consultant at the tourism ministry despite not having specialised knowledge or qualifications to perform the new role. She then kept the same role with an even higher expertise allowance when joining the Gozo ministry after her job at the tourism ministry was terminated. The transfer to the Gozo ministry happened after she developed a romantic relationship with Bartolo.

“It’s been another week of scandals from the government. You are paying out of your pocket for their corruption. The prime minister, who is weak, is looking for any single excuse not to do anything. You are simply paying for their errors while they are left to pig out at the trough. Don’t let them!” Grech said in a call on social media.

The protest will be taking place right at the start of Clayton Bartolo’s address to parliament on the Budget vote for the estimates that concern the tourism ministry.

It will be a dampener for the Labour administration as Bartolo’s and Labour MPs’ speech will prop up the successes of the ministry for tourism, while Opposition MPs will be twisting in the knife on this latest scandal.

Indeed, the ethics investigation found that although Amanda Muscat – who is now running her own café in Naxxar – was supposed to be working with and for the Gozo ministry, she continued acting as the tourism minister’s private secretary.

The Standards Commissioner found that Muscat penned no reports and gave no written opinions or advice as a consultant to either of the ministers, and her role was effectively one of coordinator between entities and stakeholders, apart from private secretary.

The mere change in her job nomenclature meant that Muscat benefitted from a substantial increase in her salary – which as policy consultant was pegged at the highest permitted level (Scale 3) – and given an expertise allowance of €15,000.

The expertise allowance was increased to €20,000 with no explanation why, when Muscat was subsequently engaged by the Gozo ministry.

The investigation kicked off on a request filed by Arnold Cassola, following a report by The Shift News on Muscat’s unorthodox work arrangements.

The Standards Commissioner refuted the claim that Muscat was paid for work she did not do, but noted that on the basis of the work arrangements afforded to her, she was “effectively given a substantial wage increase that was not justified”.

The Standards Commissioner noted that although the manual regulating the engagement of persons of trust with the public service defines the role of policy consultant as a position of trust, this did not mean engaging someone who was unqualified for the job.

“Those appointed to roles financed by public funds, including persons of trust, are obliged to fulfil the duties pertaining to their role, and whoever appoints them is obliged to choose persons capable to fulfil those duties,” the commissioner said.

Muscat’s relationship with Bartolo developed after she started working at the tourism ministry. They eventually got married in July this year. The sequence of events suggests that Muscat’s initial engagement as a private secretary had nothing to do with their personal relationship.