Consumer Affairs Minister Helena Dalli has defended her decision not to extend Francis Farrugia’s tenure as chairman of the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority and appoint Marcel Pizzuto instead.
She was winding up the debate in second reading of the Consumer Affairs (Amendment Bill) on Monday. The Bill brings Malta’s consumer laws in line with a 2005 EU directive. It was unanimously approved.
Opposition MP Paola Mifsud Bonnici said during the debate that the Nationalist government had appointed a strong regulator when it set up the MCCAA.
She could not understand how the minister always criticised Mr Farrugia, who occupied three posts but was paid only for one. Did the minister know Mr Farrugia was saving the authority €80,000 a year?
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that Mr Farrugia was removed for the simple reason that “he was not one of the party boys”.
Yet, he enjoyed international standing and was thrice elected on the general council of the International Standards Organisation.
“This surely was a great honour for Malta to be represented at a forum that takes decisions that affect the whole world,” she said, adding that he was a point of international reference where authorities were concerned and was many a time chosen by the EU to lecture in various member states on different subjects. Mr Farrugia was still sought after by international entities, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.
This is nothing but political hypocrisy
However, she added, the first thing that the minister did was to “cut his head off” when it was the same minister, before the election, that spoke of meritocracy. “This is nothing but political hypocrisy.”
The Nationalist MP asked what international standing the new chairman had.
Dr Dalli pointed out Mr Pizzuto had seasoned experience in the civil service, having worked under various Nationalist administrations and was loyal to the policies laid down by government of the day.
He had been appointed director of the Office of Competition, director general of the Competition and Consumer Division and retired from the service as permanent secretary. Mr Pizzuto was chosen to lead MCCAA on his own merits. The minister wondered whether that was enough to prove that she truly believed in meritocracy, adding that she had a chairman that was receiving half of what Mr Farrugia was getting.
The new board had decided that Mr Pizzuto would assume the responsibility of executive chairman in contrast to Mr Farrugia who, apart from being chairman of the MCCAA, was also director general of one of its entities and acting director general of another.
The new board had made staff wellbeing its priority. Top of the agenda was the removal of the asbestos ceiling at the MCCAA’s premises, reaching an agreement with the owners to make the necessary changes at their own expense.
What had kept the previous board from entering into such an agreement? What had kept it from working on the fire escape for which Dr Mifsud Bonnici was now pointing fingers at the minister?
Dr Dalli said the watchdog was so mismanaged under the previous administration that the necessary administrative issues had to be settled before one could move on.
Employees experienced deplorable conditions, working in small, windowless offices with better rooms delegated to store cleaning equipment. Furthermore, the performance bonus for 2012 and the qualifications bonuses that were promised to the employees had never been paid.
The law required the MCCAA’s board to issue an annual report and to draw up a business plan.
That notwithstanding, the annual reports for 2011 and 2012 were never drawn up and the business plan was never finalised.
These reports were now finalised, even though the new board was not in office during the period question.
It was advised to compile and submit the report to the minister in order to meet the requirements of the law, Dr Dalli explained.