Two reporters who work with the Labour Party’s media arm ONE TV have each received €9,750 in the form of direct orders from the government, The Malta Independent can reveal.

Samuel Lucas and Trischia Falzon received €9,750 each in direct orders issued by the Ministry for Active Ageing in May of this year.

Lucas is the Deputy Head of News at ONE, having been with the company since August 2017, while Falzon works in the post of Senior Journalist, having worked with Labour’s media arm since February 2014.

Both are familiar faces on Labour Party television, with both having hosted current affairs discussions and interviews with Prime Minister Robert Abela in the past.

They received €9,750 each on 20 May 2022, with Lucas being engaged for “script writing for TV programmes, debates and discussions” and Falzon being engaged for “social media services.”

The Ministry for Active Ageing is led by newly elected Gozitan MP Jo Etienne Abela.

Falzon, who is 26 years old, was also recently nominated by the Office of the Prime Minister to be a director in a public sector entity tasked with overseeing multi-million euro investments between Malta and Libya.

The Times of Malta reported the story a couple of weeks ago, saying that Falzon would have been nominated as a director of The Libyan Arab Maltese Holdings Company Limited, which was set up in 1975, but had her nomination called back after questions were sent about the appointment.

Government direct orders have become something of a norm in past years, even though the procedure should only be used in specific circumstances such as when nobody applies for a tender or when one requires a specific service.

The National Audit Office particularly has repeatedly criticised how procurement regulations have been sidelined by various government entities in recent years.