Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/783519
WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION €1.00 Newspaper post PAGE 9 • Editorial PAGE 6 WEDNESDAY • 8 FEBRUARY 2017 • ISSUE 508 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY 2131 2020 I bov.com Issued by Bank of Valletta p.l.c. 58, Triq San Żakkarija, Il-Belt Valletta VLT 1130 BOV INVESTMENT FUNDS your success is our goal BOV Investment Funds Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. The value of the investment can go down as well as up. Investments should be based on the full details of the Prospectus, Offering Supplement and the Key Investor Information Document which may be obtained from BOV Asset Management Limited, Bank of Valletta p.l.c. Branches/Investment Centres and other Licensed Financial Intermediaries. BOV Asset Management Limited is licensed to provide Investment Services in Malta by the MFSA. The BOV Investment Funds is a common contractual fund licenced by the MFSA as a collective investment scheme pursuant to the Investment Services Act and the UCITS Directive. Issued by BOV Asset Management Limited, registered address 58, Triq San Żakkarija, Il-Belt Valletta VLT 1130. Tel: 21227311, Fax: 22755661, Email: infoassetmanagement@bov.com, Website: www.bovassetmanagement.com.mt. Source: BOV Asset Management Limited ANN EATS HUMBLE PIE Ann Fenech calls for a truce on the war on pastizzi: her Facebook post taking the Prime Minister to task for entertaining European counterparts to 'common and crude' pastizzi earned her instant notoriety. Now she has made amends, with a visit to Rabat's 'Serkin', with owner Kenneth Ciangura's father Freddie (centre) and PN assistant secretary-general Jean Pierre Debono. "I apologise to all those others who felt offended by my comments. I had absolutely no intention to offend anyone," she said. Positions, and persons of trust, total 278 across nine ministries YANNICK PACE A total of 278 individuals are en- gaged on a trust basis across nine ministries, information tabled in parliament has shown. The information, requested by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi, has revealed a two-tier system for handpicked individuals to be moved into political secretariats. They include civil service per- sonnel moved into "positions of trust" and non-government work- ers moved into ministerial secre- tariats as "persons of trust". A government spokesperson said that the system was already in place, and allows ministerial appointments from both within and outside of the civil service. The system was employed in previous administrations al- though the Opposition is adamant that the employment of persons of trust has been applied indiscrimi- nately for the benefit of Labour Party activists and candidates. Azzopardi, who submitted the parliamentary questions, insisted that the system was a "creative way of getting more people jobs with the government." "The difference between the two appointments is a sophism, an ingenious, and devious way to employ more people on the public payroll," Azzopardi said. The largest number of persons engaged on a position of trust ba- sis, or considered to be persons of trust, are within the Ministry for Justice, totalling 66. Justice Min- ister Owen Bonnici said the figure included court attorneys, all of whom are chosen and appointed by the judges. Bonnici's ministry is closely followed by the Ministry for the Environment, which employs 65 individuals, followed by the Min- istry for Home Affairs with 34. Both Environment Minister José Herrera and Home Affairs Minis- ter Carmelo Abela said the num- bers include individuals who have been recruited in anticipation of work related to the Maltese Presi- dency of the Council of the Euro- pean Union. Konrad Mizzi skirts questions on wife's Shanghai contract, Panama Papers MIRIAM DALLI MINISTER Konrad Mizzi yester- day skirted questions raised by the Opposition on his company regis- tered in Panama and reports that his wife, Sai Mizzi Liang, will stay on in Shanghai as Malta's special envoy to Asia. Mizzi delivered a ministerial statement on the €60 million sale of the former ITS land to DB San Gorg, owned by hotelier Silvio Debono but the opposition MPs chose to question him on other matters. Holding posters reading "I don't have a secret company in Panama", the opposition, led by Simon Busut- til, walked out during Mizzi's deliv- ery of the statement. The opposi- tion members later returned to ask questions. But the questions fielded by the opposition did not focus only on the ITS contract, but also grilled Mizzi and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on the Panama Papers revelations, who owned the third company Egrant and whether it was true that Sai Mizzi Liang's Shanghai contract had been renewed. Egrant is the third offshore com- pany set up by Nexia BT, which the audit firm described as a shelf com- pany. The name of the company had emerged along with Hearn- ville Inc – owned by Konrad Mizzi, which he said he would close down after a tax audit – and Tillgate Inc, owned by the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Keith Schembri. A year ago, when Mizzi was elected deputy leader of the Labour party, he had announced that Mizzi Liang's contract would not be re- newed. At the time he had said: "I'm not just a minister now, my role has changed. We decided it is for the best." Mizzi stepped down as deputy leader in the Panama Papers fallout. But it now transpires that Mizzi Liang's contract was renewed again last year, just a few months ago. Mizzi Liang was first engaged in August 2013 and received some €13,000 a month for her services. Ignoring the questions, Mizzi told parliament that the questions raised which were not related to the ITS contract, "prove that we have a robust contract with strong clauses and obligations". Yesterday morning, Mizzi also avoided answering questions about his wife, telling journalists that questions should be put to the rel- evant authorities. Malta Enterprise falls under the responsibility of be- leaguered economy minister Chris Cardona who was last week accused of visiting a brothel in Germany, accusations he has vehemently de- nied. Opposition MPs hold placards in parliament reading 'I don't have a secret company in Panama' Malta Enterprise chairman William Wait reportedly confi rms renewal of Sai Mizzi Liang's contract as China envoy