Prime Minister Robert Abela indicated on Wednesday that he did not agree with the €28,000 termination package given to Rosianne Cutajar, saying such practices are “not compatible” in the case of cabinet members who resign after being involved in a scandal.
The former Parliamentary Secretary resigned after an investigation by Standards Commissioner George Hyzler over a failed property deal involving Yorgen Fenech. Hyzler had found that Cutajar breached ethics when she acted as a broker and had “more likely than not” received a €46,000 fee. She had also failed to declare a €9,000 gift she had received from Fenech.
Earlier this week, it was reported that she received €28,000 as a terminal benefit as part of an agreement that is in place for resigning ministers and parliamentary secretaries.
Asked by The Malta Independent if Cabinet members who resign under scandal should receive such remuneration, Abela said: “We inherited a system where a cabinet member – Francis Zammit Dimech – got two termination packages. I will not refer to the past. We must see how we can do things better. We will be carrying out changes as I feel that, in circumstances like these, it is not compatible that one receives a termination package.”
Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had also been given €120,000 package after he resigned, soon after his office was linked with the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Muscat had also been named as the man of the year in corruption by an international consortium of journalists at the time of his resignation.
The PM was also asked whether a Labour government would at least consider the PN’s trackless tram proposal should it be found that its own metro proposal is unfeasible.
Abela said the report drafted by ARUP had clearly explained that the PNs proposal was unsuitable for Malta. The report has been made public and everyone is invited to read it, Abela said.