Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1205478
REVELATIONS that former tourism min- ister Konrad Mizzi was given a lucrative consultancy with the Malta Tourism Au- thority, only weeks after resigning from office in disgrace, speaks volumes about the uncomfortable situation Prime Min- ister Robert Abela has inherited from the preceding administration. It is clear that Abela is already reaping part of the whirlwind he had sown, when pub- licly embracing Konrad Mizzi at his inau- guration ceremony as newly elected Labour Party leader. Though his first few actions as prime minister suggested that Abela would be distancing himself from the architects of the political crisis that brought about Jo- seph Muscat's downfall, the reality is that Robert Abela has to also accommodate a large swathe of his own party supporters who still openly support Konrad Mizzi, and everything he still represents. This week's events prove that Abela can- not so easily rid himself of the continued presence of Mizzi in Parliament, and his enduring popularity among the party grass- roots. Apart from the consultancy at MTA, Miz- zi was also nominated to head a delegation, representing the Maltese government, to the Ogranisation for Security and Co-op- eration in Europe (OSCE): an unusual and provocative choice, given that Mizzi has been the focus of so much international criticism – not least, from European insti- tutions – over Malta's rule of law issues. In both cases, the decision to 'reward' Mizzi can be seen to have backfired. Gov- ernment was forced to rescind the OSCE nomination; and similarly, Tourism Min- ister Julia Farrugia Portelli instructed the MTA to, with immediate effect, terminate and annul the three-year contract, which would have seen former minister Mizzi pocket €80,000 a year. Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the Konrad Mizzi consultancy, however, is how blithely the entire affair seems to have been carried out at a time of crisis in Mal- tese governaFreshly resigned as minister, it would seem Mizzi 'requested' (or was kindly obliged by) the MTA chief executive officer Johann Buttigieg - who until a few months ago was head of the maligned PA - to be given an €80,000 consultancy. It is one thing to pass through the revolv- ing door from a government job into the private sector. But it is quite another to im- mediately secure your employment with a higher salary than your ministerial package, with the same agency that fell under your purview a few weeks before. Clearly, this is a revolving door that needs to be shut. Nonetheless, the problem of inadequate remuneration for MPs remains… If noth- ing else, because it leads to the creation of ad-hoc 'arrangements' such as this. Once again, this case highlights the clear absence of rules when it comes to MPs be- ing given government jobs and similar con- tracts: a legacy of the Muscat administra- tion, and one which Robert Abela should be addressing, together with a reformed salary package for MPs and ministers. This reform should be high on the gov- ernment's agenda, also because the Com- missioner for Standards in Public Life has issued a report calling for an end to the practice of giving backbench members of Parliament jobs or consultancies with the government. The report describes the practice as "fundamentally wrong". The Commissioner also noted that giving backbench MPs jobs with government is widely perceived as a means of appeasing those who are not appointed as ministers or parliamentary secretaries, or as a means of compensating them for their low sala- ries as MPs. (Both these considerations are applicable to Konrad Mizzi's case.) Lastly, he called upon Parliament to ad- dress the issue of low remuneration of MPs: a point made separately by this news- paper on numerous occasions. MPs should not be allowed to partake of government largesse, but neither should they be denied a reasonable salary for their job. Ideally, Malta's members of parliament should be given proper remuneration so that they pursue full-time jobs as MPs, with- out the need for supplementary income. This view may not be popular, as it im- plies that more taxpayers' money being diverted into MPs' pockets… evoking memories of the disastrous attempts to raise MPs' remuneration under preceding administrations. But such is the 'sacrifice' that has to be made, in return for a more dedicated Parliament at the full-time service of the people. A revolving door that needs to be shut Mikiel Galea 9 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: MATTHEW VELLA EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 JANUARY 2020