PM defends Mugliett again

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has once again defended the government against criticism sparked by Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett's involvement in the Malta Transport Authority's (ADT) decision to put the brakes on the sacking of two officials convicted of bribery.

Interviewed on Radio 101 yesterday, Dr Gonzi said the facts confirmed that the minister had not interfered in the decision, and he insisted that Mr Mugliett had allowed justice to take its course.

"I must repeat simple facts: The government had neither tried to stop investigations into the conduct of the two ADT officials, nor did it try to stop justice taking its course," Dr Gonzi said.

Mr Mugliett's story featured prominently in the Sunday newspapers yesterday as leader writers, columnists and cartoonists commented on Dr Gonzi's decision to turn down the minister's offer to resign last week.

Mr Mugliett had admitted having told Gianfranco Selvaggi, the former ADT chief executive officer, to reverse a decision to sack the officials and keep them suspended on half pay pending their application for presidential pardon.

In Parliament, Mr Mugliett said he never ordered the ADT board to retain the two workers and that after the issue was "discussed collectively", it had been decided that the future of the officials be left pending in view of a request for a presidential pardon.

Dr Gonzi, who two weeks ago turned down Mr Mugliett's offer to resign over the issue, said during his radio interview: "Can anybody explain to me how Mr Mugliett acted incorrectly? Let's look at facts properly before people write articles in newspapers without verifying the facts."

The Prime Minister said that neither Mr Mugliett nor the government had ever tried to interfere with the police investigation into the bribery case.

Nor had there been any interference when the court found the officials guilty, ruling they should never again hold public office. The government had, through the Attorney General, appealed against the decision hoping the officials would be given a harsher punishment, possibly a prison sentence, Dr Gonzi said.

He blamed the Labour Party for "unjustly attacking" the government and the Roads Minister and claimed there was a pattern in the way the Opposition twisted facts when attacking Nationalist ministers who did their best to curtail abuse in public administration.

Dr Gonzi reiterated that in this specific case, the ADT board had written to him insisting that at no time did it change its decision to sack the two employees convicted of bribery.

The assertion, which was made in a statement published by the government on Friday night, was exactly what ADT chairman Joe Gerada had already told The Times when he claimed that neither he nor the board were involved in the decision to reinstate two convicted officers.

Dr Gonzi said that on his part, Mr Mugliett had merely indicated that before sacking the officials the ADT officials should await the outcome of the request for a pardon by the officials' lawyer, PN MP Jason Azzopardi, based on a precedent where an employee of the authority had had his interdiction reduced.

The government's position was that it would not tolerate abuse or corruption - irrespective of who was behind it, Dr Gonzi said.