Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/187071
€1.20 Download the MaltaToday App now YOUR FIRST READ AND FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT MALTA'S NATIONAL AQUARIUM BACK PAGE maltatoday SUNDAY • 6 OCTOBER 2013 • ISSUE 726 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY VIDA, MALTA'S FRESHEST LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FREE WITH MALTATODAY Finance Minister says MP asset register is 'lousy' THE declaration of assets for Malta's members of parliament is "lousy", and the salary being paid to ministers is "insulting", Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has told MaltaToday in an interview. As an MEP for the socialists and democrats, Scicluna was paid close to €90,000 a year before he decided to run for elections in March 2013, after which he was appointed finance minister, with a salary that is just less than half his MEP salary. "It was very unfortunate that the government salaries increase happened the way it did," Scicluna said, referring to the way Lawrence Gonzi increased ministerial salaries and topped them up with the parliamentary honoraria back in 2008 without making it public. The matter now is expected to be revisited, but not before Labour completes its first leg- islature. "The matter to be discussed is how much should be paid: if this is determined by an independent body, it could be argued and discussed at length and probably solved, something that will probably happen only in the second legislature, if re-elected," Scicluna said. CONTINUES ON PAGE 14 SEE INTERVIEW PAGES 12-13 EDWARD SCICLUNA: "I am insulted at the salary a minister gets" CONFIRMED: SIR CHRIS WAS DEFINITELY TERMINATED BECAUSE OF UNDERPERFORMANCE European Evans was paid €100,000 personally, the company he was director of got €250,000 from a €750,000 contract period and amounted to a total of €750,000. Furthermore, MaltaToday has seen documents which confirm that Evans was paid €100,000 in the first year and that Sultan Scientific was paid €250,000. In total in the first year, Evans and the company where he was a director were paid €350,000. MaltaToday can also confirm that Sultan Scientific was terminated for underperformance by Malta Enterprise before the last election. Sources told MaltaToday that Evans contested his termination after the 17 April letter and threatened to take the issue to court. "His reaction was typical of some- one at fault, accusing Malta of being unprofessional. It was also rather strange that a week after a change in administration and given the fact that he had hardly organised or attended meetings, he turned up to organise a meeting on 14 March 2013," a senior government source told MaltaToday. This is not the first time that Christopher Evans has hit the headlines: he was hounded by the British press in the cash-for-peerages scandal. He was targeted for his £1 million donation to the Labour Party and the link to his peerage under the Tony Blair administration. The reputable Daily Telegraph reported Sir Christopher Evans as the leading businessmen linked to this scandal, and the tabloid Daily Mail reported that "Sir Christopher is the only one of the businessmen linked to the allegations to have been arrested by police". CONTINUES ON PAGE 14 Central Bank welcomes new posts at CBM THE PN Opposition has claimed that two new top posts at the Central Bank of Malta were being created to accommodate Labour's 'billboard boys'. Former PN finance minister Tonio Fenech also added that these appointments undermine the independence of the bank. Nonetheless this seems to have been contradicted by a statement by the ECB, which said that it welcomed the appointment of a second deputy governor, who will be responsible for the financial stability mandate. CONTINUES ON PAGE 3 Newspaper post MULTIMILLIONAIRE and UK national Christopher Evans was terminated as chairman of the Malta Life Sciences Foundation and as life sciences envoy for Malta. MaltaToday can confirm his termination through a letter dated 17 April and signed by Malta Enterprise Chief Executive Sue Vella. Underperformance is cited as one of the main reasons. Evans, who was knighted in a controversial 'donation for peerage' scandal, is claiming he resigned on 14 March, but the facts speak otherwise. In a right of reply published in today's edition (see page 22), Sir Chris argues that he was the target of a smear campaign. Last week MaltaToday erroneously reported that Evans had been paid €750K, when in fact the €750K referred to a three-year contract. However, MaltaToday can confirm that the contract with Evans was with him personally and with the company, Sultan Scientific Malta, where Evans was a director. It was for a three-year