Minister admits telling CEO to hold dismissal

The two Malta Transport Authority (ADT) officials who were convicted of corruption last November have been sacked by the authority, following a board meeting last Tuesday, the same day outgoing CEO Gianfranco Selvaggi revealed that he had been "told" by the Transport Ministry not to sack the two officials.

Mr Selvaggi's comments were carried in a story which appeared in The Times yesterday. After efforts throughout the day yesterday to get the reactions of the Office of the Prime Minister and Transport Minister Jesmond Mugliett to the revelations, the ministry issued a statement at about 8 p.m. denying the claims and announcing the laying off of the two officials.

When finally contacted, the minister admitted having told Mr Selvaggi to actually reverse a decision he had taken last February to sack the officials and keep them suspended on half pay instead, pending a presidential pardon which they had requested following their conviction.

The officials, Roderick Galea and Jason Buttigieg were found guilty of taking bribes for giving a pass mark to people taking the driving test. They were conditionally discharged for three years and banned for life from holding public office.

In a letter signed by Mr Selvaggi dated last February 8 - a week after an appeals court confirmed their conviction handed down in November - the two officials were informed of their immediate dismissal.

On February 12, the officials' legal council Jason Azzopardi wrote to the authority informing it that a request for a presidential pardon had been filed, and on this basis claimed that the dismissal of the employees was "premature and illegal".

Legal sources who had spoken to The Times, however, had contradicted this position, saying legal proceedings or a presidential pardon had no bearing on the ADT's decision to sack the officials.

Moreover, both the CEO and the present chairman Joe Gerada have expressly concurred with this latter position. Mr Selvaggi insisted that not withstanding the presidential pardon the two should be sacked.

However, the Minister had asked that the two be instead suspended on half pay pending the outcome of the presidential pardon. On February 19, despite the CEO's misgivings, the two were reinstated but suspended on half pay as Mr Mugliett had prescribed.

On June 19, the Justice Ministry informed the officials that their request was being "archived" in view of the fact that they still had other legal remedies to exhaust, after which they could reactivate the request for pardon.

On this basis, a board meeting convened last Tuesday, in the Minister's presence, decided to sack the officials.

On that same day, Mr Selvaggi admitted to The Times, when asked, that he had been against the decision not to sack the officials.

He handed in his resignation on Tuesday insisting, however, that it had nothing to do with the bribery scandal.

His comments have political import since one of the officials involved, Roderick Galea, 30 was Mr Mugliett's canvasser.

Speaking to The Times last night, the minister said he had asked that the two be suspended on half pay instead of being sacked, pending the presidential pardon. The decision, he said, had been discussed collectively.

"I believe that even the chairman was involved at one stage".

However, both the chairman and the CEO explicitly told The Times that the presidential pardon had no bearing on the authority's decision.

"In view of a previous precedent by the Public Service Commission (in which they decided to reinstate a man in similar circumstances), I felt the decision should be postponed," Mr Mugliett insisted.

"I never said they should not be sacked, simply that we should wait for the outcome of the presidential pardon."

When asked what would have happened had the presidential pardon been granted, he said that he had "faith that the board would still have sacked them".

He also admitted the connection with Mr Galea, but defended it saying that the ties between him and the official were weak: "I cannot say there is a big connection. Canvasser is a loose word in Maltese politics". It can be a close collaborator or someone who actively supports your cause, he argued.

Mr Mugliett denied that there was ground for him to offer his resignation.

"Were these people reinstated? Where did I act wrongly? I simply erred on the side of caution."

Faced with the fact that he actively involved himself in the decision despite his connection with one of the officials and despite the authority's supposed autonomy, he rebutted:

"It was the authority which took the decision... We'll let the people decide".

In the meantime, questions sent to the Office of the Prime Minister first thing yesterday morning remained unanswered.