Cassola publishes Bonett ethics report conclusion, says minister keeps breaking ministerial rules

Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi has warned that the use of ministers’ personal social media pages for official government content may not be excused in future, despite clearing Transport Minister Chris Bonett of an ethics breach in a report conclusion released by Momentum leader Arnold Cassola.

Cassola took to Facebook on Wednesday to release the Standards Commissioner’s judgement on Bonett’s decision to publish an advertisement on his personal page against ministerial procedure, pointing out that the minister himself “never has the guts” to publish the full report.

He highlighted that the report notes that he ambiguous situation created by the minister would have been avoided if the video had been uploaded to the official page of the Transport Ministry, as required by the May 2020 guidelines, instead of being uploaded directly to his personal page.

Cassola pointed out that Bonett has been found in breach of regulations every time he has been reported to the Standards Commissioner, only to be excused each time, recalling one case in which the minister used a ministry car for a private holiday in Sicily.

“Now let him continue to do as he pleases, and we will continue to say "Prosit ministru” (Good job minister).”

This comes after the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life concluded that Bonett did not breach ethical standards by sharing a government-funded video on his personal Facebook page. 

The investigation was triggered by a complaint from Cassola, who alleged that public funds were misused to produce material for the minister’s personal social media account rather than being disseminated through official channels.

The complaint centered on a 41-second video produced by the Transport Ministry to announce 400 new daily public transport trips.