Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/262615
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2014 News 5 MIRIAM DALLI PARLIAMENTARY secretary Fran- co Mercieca has refused to confirm or deny his intention to step down from his minister's role, to resume his ophthalmological practice. The Gozitan MP, elected to the House in his first political foray and instantly appointed as parlia- mentary secretary for the elderly, will be returning to his lucrative surgery, MaltaToday has learned. Rumours of Mercieca's impend- ing departure from the Cabinet of ministers were rife during Labour's last general conference. His appointment to junior minis- ter was met with controversy when he became the only Cabinet mem- ber to be given special permission from the Prime Minister to con- tinue working in his practice, de- spite the provisions of the Code of Ethics – a code which is currently under review – barring ministers from pursuing their professional careers. As a reshuff le looms in the Cabi- net, MaltaToday is informed that staff within the parliamentary sec- retariat for active ageing and dis- ability rights has already started seeking alternative jobs: spokes- person Owen Galea was recently shuff led into the Public Broadcast- ing Services' newsroom to handle TVM's online website. Contacted by MaltaToday, the junior minister refused to confirm or deny rumours of a change in his role as parliamentary secretary. "These matters are the prime min- ister's prerogative and whatever happens is up to the prime minis- ter," Mercieca said. However, he admitted to being "more attracted" to his profession as an ophthalmologist than to poli- tics: "I am at the peak of my career, with skills that are not being put to use in my role as parliamentary secretary." Drawing comparisons with other members of the Cabinet, Mercieca said his professional skills, unlike those of lawyers or architects that can "adapt them to their parliamen- tary work", cannot be adapted. "My situation is more particular. I am a specialist not making enough use of my skills because there's not much use of them in this environ- ment," he said. Mercieca, an ophthalmologist specialising in refractive surgery and corneal transplantation, has been the subject of several media reports for continuing practicing his profession – with the prime minister's blessing – while holding a Cabinet position. News of the limited waiver had sparked a debate on the €42,000 minister's salary, believed to be incommensurate with the work carried out when compared with salaries earned by chief executive officers working for the public sec- tor. When questioned whether the drastic decrease in salary was a fac- tor he considered when resigning from his post, Mercieca replied that every Cabinet member knows what comes with the role. "[Ministerial] salaries are what they are, but eve- ryone knows that before accepting the post," he said. The junior minister admitted that it was "difficult" for him to explain why he had accepted the parliamen- tary secretary role in the first place: "It was a decision I took at the time, a decision I don't regret." Denying any knowledge of mem- bers of his staff seeking alternative jobs, Mercieca however noted that he could not stop them from seek- ing "a more secure job" with the government. Mercieca considers return to lucrative practice Parliamentary secretary who clinched arbitrary 'waiver' on code of ethics to keep private practice, could be about to step down PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD Law Commissioner now 'consultant' on justice reform JEROME CARUANA CILIA FRANCO Debono, the former Na- tionalist MP, is not only the govern- ment's Commissioner for Laws, but also the government's consultant on justice reform. According to the lawyer, he is serv- ing as the government's consultant on justice reform, which already has a commission led by judge emeritus Giovanni Bonello, formerly of the Eu- ropean Court of Human Rights. The commission on the reform of justice has authored several reports on legislative changes to Maltese law and constitutional reform. Debono has also authored a pro- spective bill on party financing, the reforms of which will regulate dona- tions to political parties. Speaking on TVM's Reporter, pre- sented by Saviour Balzan, Debono said the new laws on transparency should encourage genuine donors to come forward with support for their party. The White Paper on party financ- ing proposes rules that will regulate most forms of donations to political parties, although not on their com- mercial interests and companies. It also proposes a revision of the paltry amounts that electoral candidates are allowed to spend in an electoral cam- paign, and prohibits donations above €50,000. For the first time ever, political par- ties will be obliged to declare and reg- ister donations above €10,000, while any donations above €50,000 ema- nating from the same source will be prohibited. Nationalist MP Francis Zammit Di- mech, who is running for MEP, took the cue of the White Paper to criticise the way the government asked the Commissioner for Lands to drop a court case against the Labour Party to reclaim Australia Hall in Pem- broke, saying this had amounted to a €10 million gift for the party. "It is unjust that we limit party financing, when the party in government has been given a gift such as Australia Hall. There needs to be a level-play- ing field." On her part, Labour MEP candidate Miriam Dalli said it was unacceptable for the former Nationaliss adminis- tration to have had its own MP, Fran- co Debono, propose a private mem- ber's bill on party financing without ever having introduced it into law. The white paper is proposing that the small amounts candidates are currently allowed to spend in an elec- toral campaign be revised upwards. The ceiling for general elections is set to increase from €1,400 to €25,000. The proposed ceiling for European elections is €50,000 while that for lo- cal elections is €5,000. Debono, who had authored a draft law when a parliamentary assistant under the previous administration, was part of the working group which included parliamentary secretary for justice Owen Bonnici, the Attorney General Peter Grech and Malta's rep- resentative on the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), Lara Lanfranco. Reporter is aired live every Monday at 6:55pm on TVM. The programme is repeated on TVM2 on Monday at 10:15pm. Franco Debono A jubilant Franco Mercieca at the counting hall when he was elected in March 2013