Former Żebbuġ mayor Brian Bonnici has been recruited by the government to manage the Addolorata cemetery in Paola on a position of trust basis without a call for applications, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.

When contacted, Mr Bonnici confirmed that he has been working at the cemetery in recent months but declined to comment further, even after requesting written questions.

When contacted, the Health Ministry said: “In view of the Health Department’s plan to augment maintenance works at Addolorata Cemetery and of the planned expansion of the cemetery, the management structure at Addolorata is being reviewed.”

Mr Bonnici resigned as mayor of Żebbuġ in 2009 following allegations that he used council staff to carry out works at his home. He was later acquitted by the court.

Following Labour’s election victory in 2013, he was appointed private secretary to then health minister Godfrey Farrugia before taking on his current role following the Dr Farrugia’s departure from the Cabinet.

Mr Bonnici, who also works part time at One TV – the Labour Party station with offices a few metres away from the Addolorata Cemetery – has recently been critical of the Labour Party – particularly the Labour-led Żebbuġ council.

His Facebook comment in which he called himself a ‘soldier of steel’.

On his Facebook page, Mr Bonnici recently wrote that, although he had been on the

receiving end of many harmful acts by fellow Labourites, he still considers himself a real suldat tal-azzar (‘soldier of steel’).

Health Department sources told The Sunday Times of Malta that, since its inception, the Addolorata Cemetery has always been managed by a civil servant, with the rank of Health Inspector.

“This is the first time that someone who is not a public official has been put in charge of the cemetery,” the sources said.

According to information provided in Parliament in recent weeks, it has emerged that since Labour was elected two years ago some 250 new employees were recruited to the public service on a position of trust basis.

These exclude the almost 400 members of the private secretariats of ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

The government jobs given on a position of trust basis range from CEOs to drivers, messengers and even a dog handler.