Legal services head accused Malta Enterprise of political discrimination
Wenzu Mintoff, the head of legal services at Malta Enterprise, is claiming that the corporation is discriminating against him by asking him to choose between his job and his role as editor of the Labour Party's weekly.
Dr Mintoff, the editor of the weekly KullĦadd, filed a judicial protest claiming that Malta Enterprise - the government's business support corporation - was guilty of political discrimination in his regard.
He accused the enterprise of exercising double standards because other employees, with obvious affiliations to the Nationalist Party, were not told anything of the sort.
Malta Enterprise felt that Dr Mintoff had a conflict of interest due to his position as editor.
Dr Mintoff accused the enterprise of failing to draw a line between the government and the PN.
"It is clear that the intention of the enterprise is not to demand loyalty towards it but towards the 'party in government'," he argued.
In the protest, filed in the First Hall of the Civil Court, Dr Mintoff said he had served at the enterprise for the past 23 years, during which he had also been openly politically active, including as a Labour MP and chairman of Alternattiva Demokratika.
Throughout those years he always fulfilled his duties within the enterprise in an "honest and diligent manner" and did not allow his political involvement influence his job performance. This was proven through his performance appraisals that were always positive, he said.
On December 1 last year, he asked for a meeting with Malta Enterprise chairman Alan Camilleri to complain about the fact that ongoing restructuring would prejudice him and his colleagues.
During the meeting, Mr Camilleri recognised Dr Mintoff's sterling work but went on to produce a letter asking Dr Mintoff to choose between his role as editor and his job.
According to the letter, KullĦadd was working against the government's interests and Dr Mintoff's involvement constituted a conflict of interest.
In the protest, Dr Mintoff argued that the accusations made by Mr Camilleri were partisan in nature and in favour of the PN.
They were also in breach of his right to freedom of expression and politically discriminatory. He pointed out that Mr Camilleri himself had a PN affiliation having served in the past as communications coordinator to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. Mr Camilleri, he said, was also involved in the PN election campaign.
Besides, he said, there were enterprise employees who were actively involved in politics. Among them were lawyer John Bonello, the PN international secretary.
Dr Mintoff said Mr Camilleri also seemed to have forgotten that his employees included people who were candidates of the party in government.
Furthermore, Dr Mintoff said, Mr Camilleri was expecting him to be judged by a board that included Vince Farrugia, a PN candidate for the MEP elections, and former PN journalist Jesmond Bonello.
All this meant that, according to Malta Enterprise, someone could be politically active and work at the corporation only if one supported the party in government.
He argued that this was discriminatory and illegal and held the enterprise liable in damages.
Lawyer Toni Abela filed the protest.
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C.camilleri
Feb 10th 2010, 18:12
@ martinelli
Just answer to Mr.Laviera contribution. Obviously you have no answers. Conveniently for you only people with PL tendency occupy positions with conflict of interest. I am not surprised with such comments coming from someone who does not live here but in a far far away country.
Joe Cassar
Feb 10th 2010, 16:56
Another interesting case is that of Mr Claudio Grech.
Mr Grech was a senior official in the secretariat of IT Minister Austin Gatt during the period when the Smart City deal was being negotiated.
Shortly after the signing of the contract he left government employment and was appointed Smart City CEO.
In most Western countries, this is considered highly unethical and there are specific laws and regulations which prohibit government employees, for a number of years, from taking employment with companies which they may have been in a position to favour. In the USA they are known as “Revolving Door Statutes” It is considered to be a case of conflict of interest.
I believe that Mr Grech eventually resigned as Smart City CEO but that, as they say, is another story.
Victor Laiviera
Feb 10th 2010, 15:24
Let us consider the case of Mr Joe Fenech Conti
.
For a Number of years. Mr Fenech Conti was chairman of the Roads Network Ltd, the government company that gives the green light for the installation of speed cameras.
He was also the CEO of Datatrak Holdings, a private IT company that takes a cut from the fines collected by speed cameras. Both Dr Gonzi and Dr Austin Gatt are on record as saying that they do not see a conflict of interest in this.
Since then, Mr Fenech Conti has resigned as chairman of the Roads Network Ltd. but he is still CEO of Datatrak Holdings, the cameras are still in the places chosen when he was in office and Datatrak Holdings still takes its cut.
J Martinelli
Feb 10th 2010, 14:52
"Apart from prayers, the only defence available for Dr. Wenzu Mintoff, that can obtain results" - a very good idea indeed, as long as the outcome is accepted, whatever it is and no appeals taking years to get resolved, are made.
In the meantime, will Dr. Mintoff continue to draw pay from both Malta Enterprise and presumably the Labour Party?
He would be extremely foolish to choose the LP weekly over the job at Malta Enterprise, therefore his final decision appears to be quite obvious.
"The other defence open for Dr. Wenzu Mintoff is to hope in the future". Meaning what? That the LP will be the government permitting such conflict of interests as long as they are performed by Laburisti? Now that's vision!
Emanuel Farrugia
Feb 10th 2010, 12:07
Apart from prayers, the only defence available for Dr. Wenzu Mintoff, that can obtain results, is the legal defence. Let's hope that the sculptor who made the statue of Justice at the entrance of the Law Courts had a reason for putting a blindfold over her eyes.
The other defence open for Dr. Wenzu Mintoff is to hope in the future. Conflict of interest my foot !!!
Victor Laiviera
Feb 10th 2010, 10:58
Recently, Dr Richard Cachia Caruana, while testifying under oath in a libel case, revealed the names of the PN’s Strategy Group which is a group set up to give the PN political advice.
Two names stand out:
One is that of Mr Edgar Galea Curmi, the PM’s personal assistant. Mr Galea Curmi is a civil servant, paid out of public funds, to assist Dr Gonzi in his role as Prime Minister not as leader of the PN. His involvement in this strategy group certainly breaches the spirit of civil service regulations; probably the letter as well.
The other is that of Dr Lawrence Zammit, for many years chairman of Air Malta and MISCO, surely privy to much more confidential information than Dr Mintoff ever was. Air Malta is charged with bringing many planeloads of Maltese voters to cast their vote in local and EU elections. There have been various allegations that the seats were not allocated as impartially as one would wish.
I think the above suffices to show that the actions against Dr Mintoff are a case of extreme discrimination and double standards.