The Parliamentary Standards Committee has unanimously endorsed a report by the Standards Commissioner, which found Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo and Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri guilty of abusing public funds.

The story revolves around the appointment of Amanda Muscat—Bartolo’s then-girlfriend and now wife—to a consultancy role with inflated salaries despite her continuing to work as Bartolo’s private secretary.

The report, which has now been officially adopted by the committee, highlights breaches of the Code of Ethics for Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries. Reacting to the new the Partit Nazzjonalista issued a statement demanding accountability.

The PN called for the immediate resignation of Bartolo and Camilleri, accusing them of engaging in “fraud involving public funds” through the “phantom employment” of Muscat. The PN stated that if the two ministers do not resign voluntarily, Prime Minister Robert Abela has no option but to dismiss them.

The statement also criticized Prime Minister Abela’s handling of the case, accusing him of applying a double standard. The PN pointed out that former Minister Justyne Caruana was swiftly removed following a similar ethics breach, while Bartolo and Camilleri have been shielded from consequences.

According to the report, Muscat was promoted in 2020 to a consultancy role, receiving a €62,000 annual salary, which later increased to €68,000. Although her official employment was shifted to Camilleri’s ministry, Muscat continued her role as Bartolo’s private secretary.

Prime Minister Abela claimed that he personally terminated Muscat’s contract, while Camilleri’s Head of Secretariat testified under oath that he dismissed her because her work was completed.

As the Parliamentary Standards Committee moves toward deciding potential sanctions, the Standards Law provides three options:

Requiring a public apology from the ministers.

Recommending measures to be taken by the House of Representatives.

Demanding repayment of funds improperly used.

The Prime Minister has faced mounting criticism for his continued support of Bartolo and Camilleri. While Abela downplayed the financial discrepancies, citing a net overpayment of €16,000 (later clarified to be €23,026 gross by the Time of Malta).

Labour Party Response

In response to the statement by the Nationalist Party, the Labour Party said that despite the PN preaching on ethical values, ‘it has come out lying at first chance.’

‘There’s no Parliamentary Committee that has found any Ministers guilty of any fraud, as the Nationalist Party is falsely trying to imply with its usual fixation towards fake news. The word “fraud”, just like the word “phantom job”, are only invented by Bernard Grech and cannot be found in any sentence written in the Standards Commissioner’s report.’

‘The PN pretends that it can use the Standards Commissioner, as it wants and as it pleases, now even by attributing to it declarations that were never said by the Chief Justice Emeritus. In light of this deception, Minister Jonathan Attard and Parliamentary Secretary Andy Ellul, as Government members on the Standards Committee, have written a formal complaint to the Speaker of the House to investigate and order the appropriate provisions on the way the PN is trying to mislead.’

‘Instead of continuing to invent fake news, Bernard Grech should turn around and see which of his MPs are absent from work and paid from public funds. That will be the only case of two weights, two measures.’

#MaltaDaily