Family and Social Solidarity Minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca fended off a number of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) by PN MP Clyde Puli last weekwhen Mr Puli asked how many of her ministry’s consultants are either Labour Party officials or their family members.
The answer to that question is 15.
Reading through the list of appointees by the Family Ministry reads like a who's who of the Labour Party. Ms Coleiro Preca pointed out that in the last election, the Labour Party won the election by 36,000 people and she could not identify Nationalists or Labourites but the government had vowed to treat everyone the same.
The family appointees:
Carmen Fearne
Mother of Labour backbencher Chris Fearne. She was appointed to the Children and Young Persons Advisory Board.
Alex Buontempo
Brother of Stefan Buontempo, Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport, appointed to the Housing Authority Board.
Yana Micallef Stafrace
Daughter of former Labour Minister Joe Micallef Stafrace, appointed chairperson of the Domestic Violence Commission.
Justine Scerri Herrera
Niece of the Parliamentary Secretary for Local Councils, Jose Herrera, appointed to the Adoptions Board.
Michael Cohen
Cousin of Transport Minister Joe Mizzi, appointed to the board of the National Commission for Perons with a Disability.
Antoinette Vassallo
Wife of former Labour MP Adrian Vassallo, appointed to chair the Housing Board.
Philip Sciberras
Former Labour MP and Judge Philip Sciberras, father of Labour mayor Alex Sciberras, appointed to chair the Embryo Protection Authority.
Renee Laiviera
Labour Party activist, appointed to the Local Examinations Board and deputy chairperson of the Domestic Violence Commission.
Labour officials and candidates
Charles Azzopardi
Labour candidate in the last general election, appointed deputy chairperson Children and Young Persons Advisory Board
Gejtu Mercieca
Ex-deputy secretary general for the General Workers Union, appointed to the management committee of St Vincent De Paul Residence.
Maria Dolores Camilleri
Former Labour MP and failed MEP candidate, appointed deputy-chairperson of the Family Commission.
Melanie Magri
ONE TV presenter, appointed to the National Commission for Persons with a Disability.
Kenneth Busuttil
Ex- Labour deputy mayor of Qormi, appointed to the Fostering Board.
Consultancies:
Toni Abela
Deputy leader for Party Affairs of the Labour Party, providing legal services to the Family Ministry.
Yana Mintoff
Daughter of former Labour Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, made an advisor on poverty to Minister Coeiro Preca.
In the same Parliamentary sitting last week, PN MP Censu Galea asked the Family Minister whether it was right for her to appoint Toni Abela and Yana Mintoff as consultants to the Family Ministry.
In reply she said the government was bringing change in mentality, embracing all and giving everyone the right to contribute. She noted that the people mentioned had rights to give service as everyone else.