Repubblika has asked the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life to investigate allegations regarding Lands Minister Silvio Schembri and PL MP Rosianne Cutajar.
In separate letters to new Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi, Repubblika president Robert Aquilina cited media stories relating to both Schembri and Cutajar, saying that the two MPs had breached ethics in their behaviour.
With regards to the former, it was reported by The Shift News that Schembri is currently in possession of “a constituency office in Luqa situated within a new apartment block built by Paul Attard, a director and shareholder of leading construction company GAP Developments.”
Attard holds a controlling stake in a business that is considering a contentious acquisition of a sizable parcel of public land in Mellieha that was put up for sale by the Lands Authority at a price said to be far below current market value and under peculiar circumstances.
Minister Silvio Schembri, who is directly in charge of and politically accountable for the Lands Authority, declines to disclose his relation to Attard.
Aquilina said in his complaint that “Schembri may have received benefits from major Maltese businessmen and contractors, who allegedly granted him the use of their properties for political offices.”
“This alleged conduct could create or reasonably create the impression that his judgment may be compromised, or that he may be placed under an improper obligation, thus breaching the Code of Ethics,” Aquilina said.
Section 4.8 of the Code of Ethics for Ministers states that “Ministers shall not accept any gifts or benefits, except as provided in this Code, that may or may reasonably create an impression that they are compromising their judgement or place them under an inappropriate obligation.”
Aquilina also complained about Schembri’s admitted in parliament that he was deploying members of his private secretariat to his Luqa constituency office.
“Like every other minister, you have officials that work with you in your secretariat. They’re there to help you in your work, and part of your work means being close to the people,” Schembri said in Parliament some days ago.
“I know the Nationalist Party doesn’t like how close we are to the people, but this is how we keep people on our side,” he added, addressing PN MP Rebekah Borg, who was pushing him on the matter.
Aquilina therefore also requested the Commissioner “investigate whether Minister Schembri is in breach of Article 4.9 of the Code of Ethics by using Ministry officials to serve in his political offices.”
Independent candidate Arnold Cassola has also filed a complaint with the Standards Commissioner on Schembri.
With regards to the Cutajar, it was reported by the Times of Malta that Cutajar did not disclose her "additional" work as an ITS consultant when she submitted her required financial statements to parliament for 2019.
At the time, her parliamentary colleague Konrad Mizzi was politically responsible for ITS.
The attempts to confirm the existence of this consulting agreement were unsuccessful as Cutajar's parliamentary declaration for 2019 didn't make any mention of it.
Cutajar mentioned that she was going to take-up a consultant position with ITS to alleged Daphne Caruana Galizia murder mastermind Yorgen Fenech back in 2019 as she spoke of her irritation at not being granted a Cabinet post.
This emerged from WhatsApp chats between the two which were leaked last week.
Aquilina therefore also called for the Standards Commissioner to investigate Cutajar on this issue.