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4 NEWS 4 KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt MATTHEW AGIUS magius@mediatoday.com.mt maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 SEPTEMBER 2024 PARLIAMENT'S Public Ap- pointments Committee ap- proved Labour MP Randolph De Battista's nomination as Malta's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva on Monday. He was formally approved by four votes to two. All govern- ment MPs on the committee voted in favour of the appoint- ment, while Opposition MPs voted against. Prime Minister Robert Abela had announced government in- tended to appoint Randolph De Battista as Geneva ambassador last month. Addressing the committee, MP Adrian Delia said the com- mittee does not question De Battista's competencies, but was concerned with how the ap- pointment was made. "We believe that this appoint- ment is purely political, motivat- ed not so much by the compe- tences but by the need to remove an outspoken member of par- liament from the government benches," he said. "We cannot approve such a move." During a session lasting around 30 minutes, De Battista faced questioning over his nomina- tion, with the main focus on concerns raised by the opposi- tion regarding his abrupt shift from serving as an MP to assum- ing a diplomatic position. Delia questioned whether the appointment was merely intend- ed to remove De Battista from his current parliamentary role. On his part, minister Clayton Bartolo defended the appoint- ment, saying it should be based on competence. He also pointed that De Battista had previously contributed at a diplomatic level, and the appointment of non-ca- reer diplomats was more trans- parent than ever. De Battista avoided engaging in political debate but empha- sised that his role as ambassa- dor would require a different approach from his political re- sponsibilities. Delia concluded by questioning whether De Battista's outspoken political views would be silenced in his new diplomatic role, to which De Battista responded that his work would continue, but in a different context, serving Malta on the international stage. During his presentation and in response to the questions posed, De Battista highlighted his expe- rience as part of former deputy prime minister Louis Grech's team. He emphasised the contacts he had established over the years at the World Health Organisation, the World Bank, and with the as- sistant to the Secretary General of the United Nations. He expressed his belief in mul- tilateral diplomacy and said he expected to focus his attention on health and human rights, es- pecially children's rights. Geneva serves as the United Nations' European base and also hosts the headquarters of several international organisations. An outspoken MP, De Battista also occupied the role of Labour CEO, a role which he resigned from following Labour's poor showing in the European Parlia- ment Election. He was co-opted into parlia- ment by Prime Minister Robert Abela in 2022 following a vacat- ed seat on the ninth district. He had not contested the General Election. Public Appointments Committee approves Randolph De Battista as Geneva ambassador Zabbar man admits to damaging car in feud with father of female 'friend' Opposition MPs question whether outgoing Labour CEO's appointment as ambassador a move to silence him Outgoing Labour CEO and MP Randolph De Battista has been approved as Malta's ambassador to Geneva A man from Zabbar has admit- ted to damaging a car belonging to the father of a female 'friend' of his. Before magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo on Tuesday, inspector Antonello Magri charged 58-year-old Fabian Mifsud with criminal damage, carrying a knife in public with- out a police permit and breach- ing the peace. Inspector Magri told the court that officers from the Zabbar police station were dispatched to deal with a report of an argu- ment, in which a knife and metal bar had been used. They found Mifsud, in a highly agitated state, at the scene. The victim had told the police that he had argued with Mifsud, who then pulled a knife on him. After the victim fled, Mifsud had then proceeded to smash the win- dows of the victim's car with a metal rod. A video of the incident is doing the rounds on social media. Mifsud pleaded guilty to the charges. His defence lawyer, Franco Debono, explained that the man had been "friendly" with the vic- tim's daughter - some 20 years his junior, and that the victim would "go and bother him about it." "He keeps sending the police to my house," piped up the de- fendant. The incident "was provoked by the victim's attitude," said the lawyer, stressing the early guilty plea in his submissions on pun- ishment, adding that the defend- ant was prepared to pay for the damages. "The issue is that when the re- lationship with the daughter is not in a happy place, the man starts calling her up," said in- spector Magri. He echoed Debono's sugges- tion of a suspended sentence, and requested a suspended sen- tence, as well as a restraining or- der in favour of the parte civile's family. Finding him guilty as charged, the court sentenced Mifsud to imprisonment for six months, which were suspended for one year and ordered the man to pay €980 for the damage he had caused, within six months. A restraining order in favour of the victim and his wife was also issued. Lawyer Charles Mercieca is al- so representing the defendant.

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