The Government is denying that the decision to stop TV presenter Norman Vella’s deployment at PBS was political. Mr Vella said he had been informed by the Office of the Prime Minister not to report to work at the State broadcasting station on Monday and to resume his duties at the Immigration Office.
The programme he presents, TVHemm, is a joint venture between Where’s Everybody and PBS. A civil servant, Mr Vella was seconded to PBS. The series ends today.
When contacted, he said he had joined Where’s Everybody in 2006 on a part-time basis and then applied for a full-time job in 2007. He did this after taking unpaid leave from his civil service job, in line with the collective agreement, between 2007 and 2012, he added.
He then resigned from Where’s Everybody, returned to the civil service and was then seconded to PBS.
However, last month, he was informed that the Home Affairs Ministry had requested the Office of the Prime Minister for the secondment to be revoked, he said.
Mr Vella received an e-mail from the Director of Resourcing on Wednesday informing him that his secondment “on grounds of public policy” was being revoked.
The last TVHemm programme scheduled for this season will be screened today and will be presented by Mr Vella.
When contacted, a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister said PBS had requested the permanent secretary at the Home Affairs Ministry to revoke Mr Vella’s secondment as TVHemm would not run in summer.
The permanent secretary contacted the Public Administration Human Resources Office, which falls under the Office of the Prime Minister. A spokesman said the Office of the Prime Minister had nothing to do with the move, insisting there was absolutely no political interference in the decision.
However, Mr Vella told Times of Malta the decision to revoke his deployment at PBS was not based on meritocracy.
“I was not given a reason for this decision. The programme I was presenting was successful. Together with my team I’ve received several awards and I never received complaints. The only thing I have is a letter from the Office of the Prime Minister and the Office of the Prime Minister takes political decisions. I do not think this decision was based on meritocracy,” he said.