An adviser at the Foreign Ministry currently serving at the Consulate General in Sydney gets €1,000 a day, including weekends.

Information given in Parliament shows that Salvino Giusti, adviser on consular affairs, earns €28,000 every four weeks. He was engaged as a person of trust as of February 1 of last year. He also received a “post-adjustment allowance” of almost €60,000.

The information emerged in a reply to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Kristy Debono. Foreign Minister George Vella said his ministry used the services of nine consultants engaged as persons of trust.

According to information given in reply to another question by Ms Debono, the Office of the Prime Minister uses the consultancy services of 15 individuals or entities. Former One News journalist Ramona Attard, who until December was former home affairs minister Manuel Mallia’s communications coordinator, earns €2,685 a month as consultant at the OPM.

Communications consultant Leslie Skipper, a former Irish BBC journalist, is paid €3,638 per month for work at the OPM and other ministries.

Carmen Sammut, a university lecturer on media, received €1,731 per month for her work “on government’s specific objectives” up to July. The contract has expired.

He also received a ‘post-adjustment allowance’ of almost €60,000

University rector Juanito Camilleri was paid €4,744 a month from July to December 2014 and €4,994 monthly in the first seven months of this year.

Labour Party deputy leader Toni Abela is a consultant but receives no OPM remuneration. Dutchman Rob van de Water, formerly with deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, is adviser to the Prime Minister but his remuneration was not listed.

Other advisers include lawyer Aaron Grech (€1,666 per month), Cyrus Engerer (€4,616 for services between September and October 2014); David Attard (€1,450 monthly); former Nationalist MP Franco Debono (€1,416 monthly); Anton Sevasta (€1,180 monthly); SZA law firm, belonging to former Labour Party president Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi (€590 monthly); Nexia BT (€8,321); Josette Sultana (€583 monthly) and architect Robert Musumeci (works 32 hours weekly on pay scale 4).

Between July 2014 and June 2015, the Ministry for Education and Employment engaged 12 consultants who were paid €421,789. Alexander Grech, Charmaine Cristiano Ganado and Maurice Gruppetta were the most paid, receiving €76,523, €57,038 and €44,490 respectively.

Silvio Debono got €30,382 for nine months to provide “consultancy services as assigned by the permanent secretary”. The payment for the remaining three months is still pending. It is not clear whether this includes his services as chairman of the Mcast board. The Employment and Training Corporation made use of three consultants who were paid a total of €50,560.

Three other ministerial entities paid €21,330 for consultancy services. These include €4,852 paid to Humberto Mozzi by the Malta Council for Science and Technology, engaged on a position of trust for consultancy services on “relations with China”.

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