Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1311619
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 NOVEMBER 2020 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Justyne Caruana will take the education ministry, returned to Cabinet after the former Gozo minister resigned in January 2020 after her then-husband, former deputy police commis- sioner Silvio Valletta, was re- vealed to have travelled with murder suspect Yorgen Fenech to watch a football match in the UK. Former energy minister Mi- chael Farrugia, a doctor by pro- fession, will be minister for the elderly; his portfolio is now un- der the purview of former La- bour MEP Miriam Dalli, who is minister for energy, enterprise and sustainable development. Dalli has been accorded Malta Enterprise, now hived off from Silvio Schembri's economy min- istry. The latter also loses na- tional airline Air Malta, which now passed on to new finance minister Clyde Caruana, Robert Abela's former head of secretar- iat. Schembri has lost two ma- jor elements of his ministry, and instead gets accorded the Lands Authority from its former ministry for infrastructure and transport. But he also gained digital economy services from the finance ministry and that includes a host of major regula- tors such as the Malta Gaming Authority, the MFSA, Gaming Malta, MITA and the Malta Communications Authority, MDIA and Tech.mt. The transport ministry re- mains harnessed by Ian Borg, who loses his parliamentary sec- retary Chris Agius to the en- vironment ministry. Aar- on Farrugia retained his entire ministry, gaining Agius as parliamentary secretary for construc- Out of a job: Silvio Parnis's faltering role as parliamentary secretary for the elderly during a COVID-19 outbreak in homes for the elderly has cost him his Cabinet job. Julia Farrugia-Portelli has had the tourism ministry passed on to a junior minister, the now-promoted Clayton Bartolo, to instead get an inclusion ministry that focuses on 'quality of life'. Owen Bonnici, the former education minister who was also criticised during COVID-19 over school re-opening delays, is now a minister for research and innovation Clyde Caruana (left) is a trusted ally of Robert Abela who has now become finance minister with responsibility for Air Malta, once under the purview of economy minister Silvio Schembri Schembri also lost Malta Enterprise to Miriam Dalli (top), the new minister for energy, enterprise, and sustainable development Silvio Schembri remains economy minister, with responsibility for Lands as well as absorbing responsibilities held by the finance ministry's digital economy portfolio tion, finally integrating the entire planning portfolio within the en- vironment ministry. There were no changes for health minister Chris Fearne, foreign minister Evarist Bar- tolo, minister for arts, nation- al heritage, and local councils José Herrera, transport and in- frastructure minister Ian Borg, social policy minister Michael Falzon, justice minister Edward Zammit Lewis, agriculture and fisheries minister Anton Refalo, social accommodation minister Roderick Galdes, Gozo minister Clint Camilleri, and home affairs minister Byron Camilleri. Carmelo Abela remains a min- ister within the OPM. Parlia- mentary secretaries Stefan Zrin- zo Azzopardi, Rosianne Cutajar, Alex Muscat and Deo Debattista retained their roles. There are now 17 ministers, and six parliamentary secretar- ies. Earlier this week, finance min- ister Edward Scicluna was slated for resignation so that he take up a new post as governor of the Central Bank. Abela shifted Caruana into the House of Representatives in a technocratic co-option to make the former Jobsplus boss Malta's next finance minister, replacing party veteran Edward Scicluna. For the last four weeks, minis- ters have been on tenterhooks at news of an impending reshuffle. Abela was warned against sowing resentment inside constituencies who could feel disenfranchised if their MP loses their ministe- rial portfolio. Indeed, Gozo gets three ministers with the return of Justyne Caruana. Abela has also appointed EU policy expert Glenn Micallef as his head of secretariat, replacing Clyde Caruana. Abela's new head of secretariat, Glenn Micallef Abela snips and tucks in 'COVID' reshuffle