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19 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 DECEMBER 2019 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications Employment of clerical officer with Infrastructure Malta REFERENCE is made to the employ- ment of a clerical officer with Infra- structure Malta during the month of January 2019. The normal Jobsplus procedure was adopted to recruit this employee. In fact, there were 53 eligible candidates on the Jobsplus list. Only two of these eligible candi- dates responded to the public call to fill two vacancies for this post of clerical officer, issued through the normal Jobsplus channels. Both eligible candidates sat for an interview before an interviewing board and were successful. The two candidates were offered the post, but only one accepted it and started working with Infrastruc- ture Malta. David Vella, Infrastructure Malta Law firm direct order REFERENCE is being made to the article 'Labour MP's law firm gets €130,000 in environment ministry direct order'. It is important to clarify that the contract given to Abela Advocates was related to a scheme issued by the then Nationalist administration as part of the 'Dairy Restructuring Aid – Animal Housing Scheme' between 2002 and 2008. Payment assurances were even con- firmed in a hastily made agreement on the eve of the 2013 general election, with a large number of dairy producers back then faced with considerable investment and risks. Following the election of 2013, the new Labour government came to the conclusion that there were no funds available to meet the financial obliga- tions with the said producers. Leaving the dairy producers empty-handed and facing huge loans and potential losses could have been detrimental to the sur- vival of the industry. Following various attempts to reach a viable solution, a holistic strategy had to be identified. Hence legal experts were engaged by the parliamentary secretariat for agri- culture, fisheries and animal rights. It was through this exercise that a tangible solution was found, as over €3 million due to the producers were, in fact, paid back to the parts in question. The service contracted comprised, amongst other things, the following: – Detailed research on the topic consulting merit, as well as a study of all proceedings, in connection with the several cases pending before the courts related to the same case. – The drafting of a written prelimi- nary report on the research findings; – Attending a series of in-depth meetings which have formalised the said strategy that detected the pending resolutions and causes connected; – Vetting of documentation before approval and authority given for draft- ing, approval of the transaction con- tracts and payments to farmers; – Drafting over sixty agreements, each specific agreement for the farmers in question involved in the transaction; – Assistance in several discussions conducted on these drafts; – Review of drafts that resulted into the finalisation of any agreement; – Meetings were held with the pro- ducers in question where the draft of the agreements were finalised in cases related to double-funding issues and assistance during meetings in relation to double-funding; – Assistance to the review board meetings, that decided on cases related to double funding; – Review the drafting of each agree- ment following the conclusions of the said Review Board and work on the necessary further drafting that resulted through the decisions taken. – Assistance in review of the signa- tory agreements with Dairy producers, subject to the findings of the Board of Review. It should be also noted that the said payments requested by the firm in question, were cleared by the ministry for finance. Robert Abela Abela advocates