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MaltaToday 27 October 2021 MIDWEEK

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2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 27 OCTOBER 2021 2 NEWS Call for Applications: The Broadcasting Authority is seeking to fill the post of Chief Technical Officer A detailed job description is to be found on the Broadcasting Authority's website: http://www.ba.org.mt. Applicants must submit a letter of application together with a detailed copy of their CV by: • e-mail to administration.ba@ba.org.mt • not later than noon, Wednesday 10th November 2021 Late applications will not be considered Jobs Plus Permit 740/2021 The Broadcasting Authority is a constitutional entity which regulates, licences and monitors all radio and television broadcasts originating from the Maltese Islands. Broadcasting Authority 7, Mile End Road, ĦAMRUN ĦMR 1719, Malta. Telephone: +356 2201 6000 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 However, the Opposition MPs in the committee felt that it to be a charade. "For weeks he kept saying that he's ready to come testify, but has always come up with an excuse," said Beppe Fenech Adami. PN MP Ryan Callus said he doesn't believe that Mizzi's trip was a pre-planned visit, while Karol Aquilina submitted a motion to condemn Mizzi's be- haviour before the committee. "There is no justification for his behaviour," Aquilina said. On the government side, PL MP Glenn Bedingfield main- tained that the committee should focus on setting a date for Mizzi to testify, and if need- ed set multiple dates to make up for lost time. However, all government MPs refused to issue a formal condemnation of Mizzi's be- haviour, voting against the mo- tion put forward by Aquilina. "We're not here to condemn or criticise," Bedingfield stated. On Monday, Prime Minister Robert Abela insisted that gov- ernment members on the PAC should not, and will not, pro- tect Konrad Mizzi. He said that the Labour MPs on the committee should carry out their work neutrally On a separate issue, Fenech Adami recalled that Ray Fenech, the Electrogas direc- tor, was asked to send some company documentation to the committee. Fenech was given a free hand on what documentation he felt should be presented to the committee, but has failed to present any documents two weeks after the request. "It is unacceptable for people to come here and say some- thing, and then it never hap- pens," he said. Bedingfield: "We're not here to condemn or criticise" British foreign office has concerns on Manuel Mallia nomination as High Commissioner Glenn Bedingfield MATTHEW VELLA THE Maltese government has been told that the British foreign office has con- cerns about the nomination of former minister Manuel Mallia as British High Commissioner. Although nominated in August, Mallia has not yet been issued with a letter of agrément, which precedes his presenta- tion in London of the letters of creden- tials to Queen Elizabeth. MaltaToday's request for comment from the British foreign office last week was not answered; while the British High Commission to Malta said it did not comment on issues of agrément – the approval letter for an accredited diplo- mat. While Mallia is not in London, foreign minister Evarist Bartolo's former com- munications coordinator Daniel Attard has been appointed deputy high com- missioner in London. Mallia was announced as High Com- missioner in August 2021, but so far his letter of agrément has not yet been is- sued. His predecessor, the career diplo- mat Joseph Cole took up his position on 1 August 2018, after serving four years in the Netherlands, and had his letter of agrément issued within three weeks; for- mer High Commissioner Norman Ham- ilton had also been announced in August 2013, and his letter of agrément issued in August, commencing his term in Sep- tember 2013. A refusal of a Maltese nomination to the position of top diplomat by the re- ceiving country would be a rare occasion. Mallia is a former minister for home af- fairs and national security, but recently he threatened libel action against former book council head Mark Camilleri for accusing him of being involved in fuel smuggling and money laundering in his book A Rentseeker's Paradise. Manuel Mallia denied the claims by Camilleri, a Labour Party delegate who however fell out with the party after it was embroiled in widespread corruption allegations. Camilleri claimed that Mallia not only abetted and aided the money laundering of proceeds from Libyan contraband fu- el, but was also "invested" in ythe black market. "Emmanuel Mallia owned a ship along with another oil smuggler called It-Turu dedicated to his father," Camilleri wrote on Facebook. "This ship used to go Libya and buy contraband diesel from Fahmi's [Slim] mafia and in turn sell it to Malta's main bunkerers [sic] Falzon and Falzon… the government knew that Mallia was in- volved in this illegal business, but they made him ambassador any way, hoping no one would ever discover his shady past and that things would be quickly forgotten." Mallia has denied the allegations as "an invention based on myths and false alle- gations against me". Camilleri claims in his book that Mallia met with oil smugglers when he minister at the behest of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, assuring them any activity out- side the immediate Maltese economy would not be investigated. Mallia sent Camilleri an email denying the claims in September. "You are there- fore being requested to immediately retract those defamatory and injurious words and are formally being informed that you are being held responsible for all damages envisaged by law over this abusive and illegal behaviour against me," the former minister told Camilleri. Former minister Manuel Mallia

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