Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1517916
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 MARCH 2024 NEWS NICOLE MEILAK nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt Leonid McKay to head Jobsplus agency in wake of Sofia inquiry findings LEONID McKay will be heading the Jobsplus agency as part of a reform process that kicked off in the wake of the Jean Paul Sofia public inquiry. McKay, who currently heads ARUC, the cannabis regulatory authority, has been earmarked for the new post for his "social credentials", sources close to government told MaltaToday. Jobsplus was transferred from Finance Minister Clyde Caruana's responsibility to that of Home Af- fairs Minister Byron Camilleri last month. The Sofia inquiry had slammed the agency over its poor handling and monitoring of work permits issued to foreign nationals, adding there was lack of coordination between Jobsplus and Identity Malta that is responsible for residence permits. The Prime Minister's decision to transfer Jobsplus to Camilleri's portfolio was intended to bring about greater coordination between the two agencies. However, it was also a political snub to his finance minister. "Government wants to bring in more controls to stamp out abuse of foreign workers, while ensuring that only those who are needed are brought to Mal- ta and Leonid McKay is being viewed as the person who can do this with humanity," sources privy to the move said. McKay, who is a social researcher who has always advocated evidence-based policy making, will be re- placing Jobsplus CEO Alexia Vella. McKay was director of Caritas Malta between 2014 and 2018 where he carried out research on The Min- imum Essential Budget for a Decent Living and the minimum wage, the adequacy of welfare benefits and labour market exploitation of migrant workers in Malta. He was appointed CEO of the Housing Authority in 2018, a post he occupied until 2022. In 2022, he was appointed CEO at the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis, which issued its first cannabis association licences earlier this year. Leonid McKay is being tasked with running Jobsplus after the agency was transferred to the home affairs portfolio following the Jean Paul Sofia public inquiry findings Who are the men A former Labour MP, a Tarxien man with criminal convictions, a Żejtun man guilty of insurance fraud, a pastizzeria operator, and Andy Ellul's former personal driver – these are the men being charged with the disability benefits scandal THIS week, five men are ex- pected to be charged with or- ganising andw forming part of a criminal organisation, defrauding the Department of Social Security, and forging of- ficial documents. Former Labour MP Silvio Grixti was one of the men implicated in the extensive scheme spanning several years, involving the fraudulent ac- quisition of monthly disability benefits by hundreds of people who were not legitimately en- titled to them. But who are the other men set to be charged over the dis- ability rackets scandal? It turns out that some of them have a coloured criminal record, and one bought shares in a compa- ny from former footballer Jef- frey Chetcuti. A former Labour MP and Tarxien man with criminal convictions The five men being charged over the scandal are Silvio Grixti, Roger Agius, Emanuel Spagnol, Dustin Caruana and Luke Saliba. Silvio Grixti needs no intro- duction. He is a popular doctor and former Labour MP who resigned from parliament in 2021 after news emerged that he was interrogated by police in relation to fraudulent med- ical documents. When he resigned from par- liament, he told his Facebook followers that he did "not want to occupy a parliamentary seat at a time when I will not be focused 100% on representing my constituents and patients." Dustin Caruana, from Tarx- ien, was only 20 years old in 2008 when he admitted to charges of supplying or pro- curing heroin and being in possession of heroin without an appropriate licence. The court decided that Caru- ana be sentenced to 10 months in prison and pay a fine of €2,300. Six years later, Caruana was convicted of knowingly buying