Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/643092
27 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 FEBRUARY 2016 Editorial MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: MATTHEW VELLA Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 • Fax: (356) 21 385075 www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: maltatoday@mediatoday.com.mt Quote of the week Parliament must be above suspicion With public appointments under increased scrutiny of late, it is becoming evident that Malta needs a thorough root and branch reform of the way such appointments are handled. Recent revelations have unfortunately cemented a perception of nepotism and political cronyism having infiltrated even the country's most sensitive institutions. The appointment of the daughter of the Speaker of the House (and former PL deputy leader) to the post of magistrate is one such example… especially given that it followed hard on the heels of two other question- able judicial appointments, both involving persons closely associated with the Labour Party. Naturally, it is perfectly possible that all these appointments may turn out to be exemplary in the way they fulfil their obligations as public officials. But this is poor consolation for the fact that the present administration seems to have made such dubious appointments a habit. Despite a justifiable uproar at the most recent example – and in spite of serious doubts regarding Dr Caroline Farrugia- Frendo's eligibility to the role – Justice Min- ister Owen Bonnici has so far resisted calls to subject the nomination to the scrutiny of the Justice Commission. Bonnici may well be genuine in his confi- dence that Dr Farrugia Frendo meets all the requirements to justify her appointment as magistrate. Nonetheless, he must concede that the objections to this appointment are also legitimate. There is a growing perception that the present administration is deliberately appointing persons close to the Labour Party to sensitive public posts. Nor is it a satisfactory reply that previous Nationalist administrations had been guilty of the same shortcoming in the past. Labour was elected on a specific promise to put an end to such political nepotism. It has so far severely reneged on this promise. Meanwhile, other questionable appoint- ments have come to light. Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia has refuted sugges- tions that the employment of his son-in-law – Dr Farrugia-Frendo's husband – at the House of Representatives in 2014 was a mat- ter of family affinity. Eric Frendo, 33, was employed as a librar- ian at the House of Representatives on 1 January 2014, with a salary set at Scale 13, which pays a maximum €17,000 p.a. "Upon his appointment, he was assigned to library duties, which he is performing with due diligence. The salary tied to this assignment is that of salary scale 13," Farrugia said of Frendo's annually renewable contract. The actual employment conditions are however not the issue here. Farrugia, a for- mer deputy leader of the Labour Party, has confirmed that Frendo was employed in his secretariat on a person-of-trust basis. Farrugia has denied that "any kinship existed" on the date when Frendo was employed, which was just prior to his mar- riage to Farrugia's daughter. This is hardly relevant, however. Kinship ties may not have been formalised through marriage; it would however be futile to deny that a certain proximity existed between the two families. Ultimately, the problem centres on wheth- er the rules of engagement for such positions (not just this particular example) are being followed to the letter; and whether these rules are sufficient to protect Malta's institu- tions from the perception of nepotism. A cursory glance at other appointments since Labour assumed the reins of govern- ment suggest that there is plenty of room for improvement. The Energy and Health Ministry alone, for instance, employed 29 people in the category of 'persons of trust' – thereby bypassing ordinary recruitment procedures – between March 2013 and March 2015. Minister Konrad Mizzi refused to supply a list of names when asked to do so in Parliament… limiting his reply only to a list of jobs. These included an assistant head of nurs- ing services, a chief executive officer, a CEO for procurement and supplies, a chief financial and administration officer, a chief operations officer, a co-ordinating officer, a director of client relations, a director of engineering, a director of human resources and administration, a director of nursing and midwifery services, a director of re- sourcing, an executive of human resources, a financial controller, a head of administra- tion, communication and business services, a head of nursing and midwifery, a head of nursing services, a health services co-ordi- nator, a health strategy advisor, a manage- ment co-ordinator for St Luke's Hospital and Mater Dei's ambulance garages, a health centre manager, a medical director, a messenger/driver, a migration co-ordinator, a ministry programme co-ordinator, a pro- gramme director of health reform, a projects director, and a station officer. It is, of course, possible that all such ap- pointments were justified, and the appoin- tees fully eligible for the posts. Such lack of transparency, however, can only give rise to suspicion that some people are benefitting more than others owing to their closeness with the Labour Party. Coming back to the appointment of Mr Frendo: it is to say the least worrying that such suspicions can even affect the institu- tion of parliament. If there is one entity – apart, naturally, from the law courts – that should be above any such suspicion, it is surely the seat of Malta's legislative assem- bly. Above all, the Labour government's ap- proach to such sensitive matters has to date been disappointing. This is very clearly not what the electorate was led to believe, with the slogan 'Malta Taghna Lkoll'. "Stories of Europe present: one time we meet not to let people in, another not to let countries out. Sometimes both." Prime Minister Joseph Muscat tweets on a crunch EU summit dealing on UK demands and migrant relocation