Honoraria: Government again fails to set record straight

The government has refused to explain inconsistencies in the Prime Minister’s explanation of why the Opposition leader is suddenly not entitled to an MP’s honorarium over and above his wage.

It has also refused to supply an updated breakdown of the salaries of the various political roles, which The Times requested amid the confusing state of affairs. A spokesman for the Finance Ministry simply said the information is “publicly available”.

This is the latest development in a long drawn out affair which began in 2008 when the government decided to give a pay rise to politicians but only declared it publicly two years later, in response to a parliamentary question.

In May 2008, the Cabinet decided the Prime Minister, ministers, parliamentary secretaries, Speaker and Opposition leader will “no longer lose” their honoraria – the salary which MPs receive. They also decided to raise this salary to €26,700 from €19,000 across the board.When the news was revealed, Dr Muscat refused the “second” salary and said he would donate it to charity – pledging around €130,000 over five years.

After harsh criticism - even from government MPs – the government decided to postpone any increases to the honorarium but insisted that ministers and secretaries should keep their second salary.

But last week The Times revealed that unlike Cabinet members, Dr Muscat has remained without his other pay, preventing him from donating the money to charity as promised. The Times discovered this after asking the Labour Party to explain which charities had benefitted from Dr Muscat’s donation.

The government initially refused to explain why Dr Muscat remained without his salary. But after the story was published, a government spokesman said this was because no agreement had been reached between the government and the Opposition in the House Business Committee meetings.

A day later, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said Dr Muscat was not entitled to an honorarium because he was not a government employee and already received his equivalent of an honorarium through his salary.

However, The Times revealed that former Speaker Louis Galea had received his honorarium and the only reason current Speaker Michael Frendo does not receive his is because he opted to retain his private practice. According to the proposals approved by Cabinet in 2008, the Opposition leader is entitled to the same salary as the Speaker and parliamentary secretaries. But as things stand, Dr Muscat’s official salary is some €19,000 less.

In light of all this, The Times asked the government to explain why the Speaker is entitled to an honorarium but not the Opposition leader and why, last December, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said the Opposition leader will “no longer lose” his honorarium.

The Times also asked for an updated breakdown of the individual salaries of each political post.

The Finance Ministry refused to supply this breakdown, saying the information was “publicly available” and tabled each year in Parliament (see table). Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister responded to the questions by saying “there’s nothing to add to the Prime Minister’s replies”. The OPM’s spokesman also reiterated its stand that since no agreement was reached, the case was now closed.

TIMELINE - HOW A SIMPLE PAY RISE BECAME SO MESSY

May 4, 2008: In an interview with The Sunday Times, freshly re-elected Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is asked if he favours a raise for ministers. Dr Gonzi says he thinks they should be able to keep their MPs’ honoraria over and above their salary.

May 5, 2008: A day later, the Cabinet takes two crucial decisions: The Prime Minister, ministers, parliamentary secretaries, the Speaker and the Opposition leader can retain their honoraria, and this will be raised for everyone to €26,700 from €19,000. (The decision is only officially announced in December 2010).

November 30, 2008: Newspaper Malta Today says ministers were given a “hush-hush” weekly raise of €290 because they will keep their honorarium of €14,966. (The figures are incorrect and there is no mention of the honorarium increase.)

December 3, 2008: Malta Today quotes Labour whip Joe Mizzi saying he agrees with the raises. Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin slams the secrecy with which things were done. Nationalist whip David Agius – apparently oblivious to the Cabinet decision to raise MPs’ salaries - says MPs also deserve a raise, not just ministers.

November 1, 2010: Answering a parliamentary question by Labour MP Anthony Agius Decelis, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech gives a breakdown of the salaries given to ministers (€78,630) and parliamentary secretaries (€76,340). The breakdown reveals that they receive an honorarium of €26,728 plus a duty allowance of 20 per cent of their basic salaries. (Their basic salaries are €42,000 for ministers and €40,093 for parliamentary secretaries.)

December 8, 2010: Mr Fenech replies to another PQ, this time by Labour MP Leo Brincat. He says that a Cabinet decision was taken on May 5, 2008 that the Prime Minister, ministers, parliamentary secretaries, Speaker and Opposition leader will no longer lose their honoraria. He adds that the honorarium has been increased to €26,700 from €19,000.

December 9, 2010: Labour leader Joseph Muscat refuses his raise (€130,000 over five years), saying no one should be paid twice for the same job. The raises are criticised as insensitive.

December 12, 2010: Dr Gonzi defends the increases in a radio broadcast and questions why the matter is being brought up now when the decision was taken two years ago.

December 20, 2010: Nationalist MPs Jean-Pierre Farrugia and Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando criticise the raise and pledge to donate their share. Labour sets up a fund for its MPs to donate their money to charity.

January 13, 2011: Dr Farrugia ups the ante when it turns out that ministers were already getting their upwardly revised honoraria since May 2008 while other MPs were still being paid at the old rate. He also says “heads must roll” over the mishandling of this “unprecedented mess”.

January 17, 2011: All ministers and parliamentary secretaries reply to questions by The Times where they ignore Dr Farrugia’s criticism, justify their increase and deny it was given in secrecy by saying all the information was public in 2008.

January 18, 2011: Dr Farrugia threatens to back a Labour motion to repeal the raise, a precarious move given the government’s one-seat majority. Dr Gonzi holds an emergency evening meeting with Dr Farrugia at PN headquarters to reach a compromise.

January 19, 2011: Dr Gonzi reads out a statement in Parliament where he retracts part of the controversial decisions taken by his Cabinet almost three years before. He says any changes to the honoraria will be postponed until they are agreed upon by consensus at the House Business Committee. Meanwhile, ministers and parliamentary secretaries will refund the difference they have been receiving but retain their double pay.

February 1, 2011: House Business Committee meets. Labour suggests the setting up of an external body to propose changes to the salaries of all politicians, which could then come into force next legislature. Government does not refuse the proposal but insists any such committee must focus only on MPs’ honoraria. Both parties plan to continue discussions later.

February 2, 2011: Foreign Minister and Leader of the House Tonio Borg issues a statement to clarify media reports, stressing that there was no agreement to any of Labour’s proposals.

February 16, 2011: At the end of the following House Business Committee meeting, which was overshadowed by the divorce issue, Labour asks Dr Borg about the honoraria issue. Dr Borg says the government rejected Labour’s proposals.

April 26, 2011: The Times reveals that Opposition leader Joseph Muscat never got paid his honorarium and the government has refused to explain why.

April 27, 2011: The government tells The Times Dr Muscat will not receive the pay because the Opposition and the government reached no compromise in the House Business Committee meetings so the whole “package” is now closed.

April 28, 2011: The Prime Minister criticises The Times’ story and says Dr Muscat’s honorarium is included in his pay. Unlike ministers and parliamentary secretaries, he says, Dr Muscat is “not a government employee” and so is not entitled to an honorarium.

April 28, 2011: The Times sends a series of questions to the government to clarify the inconsistencies in Dr Gonzi’s arguments but the government has “nothing to add”.

April 29, 2011: The Times asks for an updated breakdown of the salaries of each political role but a spokesman for the Finance Ministry refuses because the information is “publicly available”.

Political pay packets

Prime Minister
Salary - €47,806
Duty allowance – €9,561
Honorarium – €19,122
Car allowance - €7,000
Total: €83,489

Minister
Salary - €42,069
Duty Allowance - €8,414
Honorarium – €19,122
Car allowance - €7,000
Total: €76,605

Parliamentary secretary
Salary – €40,157
Duty Allowance - €8,031
Honorarium – €19,122
Car allowance - €7,000
Total: €74,310

Speaker
Salary – €40,157
Duty Allowance - €8,031
Honorarium – €19,122*
Total: €67,310

Opposition leader
Salary – €40,157
Duty Allowance - €8,031
Total: €48,188

Members of Parliament
Honorarium – €19,122
Telephone allowance - €2,868
Total: €21,990

*Unless private practice is retained

The information above is based on 2011 salary scales and May 2008 Cabinet proposals.