The Office of the Prime Minister’s security chief Peter Paul Zammit has waded into the political controversy involving developer Marco Gaffarena, hitting out at the Shadow Minister for Justice and Democracy Jason Azzopardi
Taking to the social media, Mr Zammit accused Dr Azzopardi of taking a “two weights and two measures approach by saying that it does not make a difference if developer Marco Gaffarena was a former client and friend of PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami.
“I have just heard Jason Azzopardi say it does not make a difference if Gaffarena was a client or friend of Beppe Fenech Adami, in my case he did not use such reasoning. Two weights and two measures. Blatant nerve,” Mr Zammit said in his comment.
Mr Gaffarena is currently at the centre of a political controversy after it was revealed that he was made a millionaire overnight when a Valletta he has just bought was expropriated by the government.
One of the many controversies during Mr Zammit’s short-lived tenure as Police Commissioner was when he unilaterally dropped charges against a former client of his, who was accused of attacking a police officer.
A subsequent independent inquiry found that the charges had already been drafted against the man and a summons was also prepared but never issued.
They were unilaterally dropped by Mr Zammit.
It was Jason Azzopardi who first called for an inquiry into the matter, after The Malta Independent revealed that the charges had been dropped.
In comments to The Malta Independent this week, civil service head Mario Cutajar said civil servants are given guidelines on what they say in public, including via social media.
The guidelines state that public officers like Mr Zammit need to ensure that they act with propriety at all times. It states that public officers in scales 6 and lower are allowed to engage in public comment in a personal capacity.
Moreover they are allowed to do so only as long as they ensure that their comments are being put forward solely as a matter of personal opinion and not the government’s opinion.
Advising government entities to regulate themselves to this directive, Mr Cutajar said that the current or the Code of Ethics for public officers is taking into consideration these modern tools of communication.
The annual conference for heads in the Public Service also discussed the issue last January and a comprehensive policy is being drawn up and will be communicated later on this year.
One of the persons who ‘liked’ Mr Zammit’s political Facebook comment is Assistant Police Commissioner Silvio Valletta. A spokesperson for Mr Cutajar confirmed that the guidelines also apply to police officers.