Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1512265
13 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 NOVEMBER 2023 ROSIANNE Cutajar was quick to claim satisfaction when the Standards Commis- sioner last week 'cleared' her of wrongdo- ing over her employment with the Insti- tute for Tourism Studies. The truth was slightly different from how she publicly tried to portray it. The Stand- ards Commissioner did not clear her but simply dropped the investigation because it was time-barred at law. It did not take long to burst Cutajar's bub- ble. On Tuesday, the National Audit Office quickly put a damper on her euphoria with a damning report that probed her employ- ment as consultant to the ITS CEO in 2019. The NAO report uses tough language to describe this consultancy contract: "Illegiti- mate, irregular and in breach of regulations." The report leaves no doubt that Cutajar's employment in May 2019 on a three-year contract with a remuneration set at €27,000 annually was crafted specifically for her and not because the ITS CEO required some form of assistance to discharge his duties. Cutajar was handpicked for the job by the chief of staff at the tourism ministry, then headed by Konrad Mizzi, at a time when she was a sulking backbench MP earning a healthy remuneration from public funds as anti-bureaucracy czar. In Cutajar's own words, she wanted to pig out from the trough just like many others who were feeding off public funds. Unfortunately, the political masters al- so found a willing CEO at ITS who played ball without even having the decency of informing the school's board of governors. Not even when the CEO presented a human resources plan did Cutajar's job crop up for discussion. What is worse, the NAO found scant proof of the work Cutajar was supposed to have done during her eight-month stint and also questioned her competence in relation to the job description included with the con- tract of employment. Cutajar cannot rebut the criticism with the poor excuse that competent Labourites should not be excluded from public sector jobs simply because they are Labourites. For starters, she is not just a simple Labourite but an MP and in this case, the NAO is jus- tifiably questioning her competence to fulfil certain jobs outlined in the contract of ser- vice. Additionally, the NAO found that Cutajar also under-declared her earnings by around €14,000 in the submission made with the Cabinet secretary. It was already bad when the WhatsApp exchanges between Cutajar and Yorgen Fenech were published to see how the MP described her colleagues as pigs feeding at the trough. She felt left out and justified her new job as consultant to the ITS CEO on the basis that everyone else was on multiple public sector payrolls. Voters deserve better. In view of the NAO's damning findings, Cutajar's position as MP is no longer tena- ble. She should choose the honourable way out and resign. However, likewise, Pierre Fenech's posi- tion as CEO at ITS is no longer tenable. Former education permanent secretary Frank Fabri was made to resign because he aided and abetted his then minister Justyne Caruana to employ a close friend for a job he was not competent for. Similarly, Fenech aided and abetted the tourism ministry to employ Cutajar in a job that was not needed and for which she was not competent enough. Fenech is tasked to ensure public funds entrusted to the institution he continues to lead, are well-spent and provide value for money. He failed in this aspect as he acqui- esced to the whims of the political masters. For this, Fenech must be removed from his post. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. But this incident also highlights the impor- tance of having MPs that are properly remu- nerated. It is clear that these odd government jobs are being utilised to improve the compen- sation package for backbench MPs, while at the same time keeping them on board. This weakens democracy. It weakens the proper functioning of parliament as a place where the executive is held to task, even by MPs from its own side. This country must have an honest discus- sion on how to significantly improve the pay packet of MPs within a context that also considers the full-time option. What's good for the goose: Rosianne Cutajar and ITS CEO must leave maltatoday MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: KURT SANSONE EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt a week after the death of the in- stitution's former President David Sassoli. "At the time, questions were raised about [inter alia] her stance on abortion (in Malta, the proce- dure is still illegal in most cases). But over the past two years, Met- sola has steered the institution through turbulent times and po- sitioned herself as a credible can- didate for a second term." Erm… am I the only one see- ing a teenie-weenie little 'con- tradiction', somewhere in there? For as Politico correctly notes: 'questions were asked about her stance on abortion' (indeed, it was precisely to 'answer those ques- tions', that Metsola even signed the Simone Veil pact, in the first place)… … yet the same article also re- minds us that 'in Malta, the pro- cedure is STILL ILLEGAL, IN MOST CASES': even though two whole years have elapsed, since the newly-elected EP President had vowed to 'guarantee safe and easy access to abortion' to all women, across the entire EU (a category that, last I looked, also included 'Maltese women'). On top of that, however: Roberta Metsola still persists, to this day, in conveniently 'forgetting' that she ever signed any such 'Simone Veil Pact', at all… despite the fact that the same European Parlia- ment she now leads, has actually TASKED HER (in no uncertain terms, too!) to finally deliver on those earlier 'pro-choice' promis- es, once for all. In case you missed it the first time… this is from a news report that appeared in this newspaper late last month: "On Thursday [19 October], the European Parliament approved [by an overwhelming majority] another resolution on the state of rule of law in Malta. However, the resolution also called for the gov- ernment to 'finally enshrine the right to safe and legal abortion'..." .. and this, on the other hand, is from a MaltaToday article dated 21 December, 2021 (just before the EP presidential election): "Nationalist MEP Roberta Met- sola has told MEPs from major groups in the European Parlia- ment that she will represent the 'majority voice' on abortion if elected president of the House, over challenges from French MEPs on her anti-abortion voting record…" Metsola herself even told this newspaper, at the time, that: "On sexual and reproductive health and rights, the position of the European Parliament is clear. As President of the Parliament my duty is to represent the view of the Parliament and if I am elected, I will do my duty as I have always done." So, coming back to that more recent resolution: what, exactly, is stopping Roberta Metsola from actually living up to that promise, today? (i.e., when the EP's major- ity voice is so much 'clearer', than it was in December 2021)? But wait, how silly of me! Rob- erta Metsola doesn't actually have to answer questions like that, does she? It's right there, in black on white, in that same Politico article: "over the past two years, Metsola has steered the institu- tion through turbulent times and positioned herself as a credible candidate for a second term…" See? It doesn't matter one tiny bit, that Roberta Metsola herself has never lifted even the littlest of fingers, to 'do her duty' and 'represent the EP's position', on the topic of abortion (which, let's face it, is not exactly 'beyond her capabilities, as a politician': seeing that she is now considered one of '28 most powerful leaders, in the EU'…) After all, Politico still sees her as a 'credible candidate for a second term'; the Nationalist Party still clearly sees her as a 'potential fu- ture PN leader'; and pretty much everyone else in the entire Uni- verse (including, naturally, Met- sola herself) is already eyeing her as a highly-probable future con- tender, for the post of European Commission President, too… See? It's just like I had original- ly suspected, way back when I was around five years old. 'You can't have your cake, and eat it?' Oh, but can… you most certainly CAN…