It is said that all’s well that ends well. A group of female prisoners at Corradino Correctional Facility have finally been paid for “almost” all the work they did for the Love, Faith, Forgiveness project endorsed by the Prime Minister’s wife, Michelle Muscat.

The inmates had been waiting for months to receive €16,000 for sewing curtains, clothes and 400 costumes for the Commonwealth summit. Project organiser Mary Grace Pisani said the prisoners would be paid once her clients settled their accounts. Days after the story was broken by this newspaper, the money was found. However, the manner in which the matter was handled, even by Ms Muscat, has left much to be desired.

Prisoners have said they used to start work as early as 4am and continue until 7pm in order to meet the deadlines. They complained that they were treated like slaves and although Ms Muscat noted that the inmates were paid market prices for their work – €3 a metre for curtains – seamstresses contacted by this newspaper were not amused when told about the payment.

If the inmates’ complaints about payment and the way they were treated were not enough, it later emerged that the Love, Faith and Forgiveness project is not even a registered NGO. And, yet, its coordinator, Ms Pisani, won endorsement from the Marigold Foundation chaired by Ms Muscat.

The Prime Minister’s wife’s official reaction to the report was astounding and footage of her press conference at Corradino attracted a wide audience on the social media.

A simple, guarded explanation on her part, with a promise to look into the matter to see that the prisoners were paid would have been enough. Instead, she came to the defence of Ms Pisani, saying the scheme allowed inmates to get out of their cells and do something productive. But it was her condescending approach towards the press that took the cherry that day.

No NGO chairwoman, and definitely not the Prime Minister’s wife, should address a press member as “dear”, bang on a table to make a point or try to lecture journalists on how to look for positive stories and to stop being ‘negative’.

That 14 inmates were owned €16,000 for their work in connection for a project she endorses was not ‘negative’ but immensely shocking. The prisoners were in a very vulnerable position and they reached out to this newspaper for help. They had carried out their part of the deal and were rightfully expecting the payment promised, not lectures on media positivity from the Prime Minister’s wife.

This is not the first time Ms Muscat has hit controversy.

Earlier this year, it emerged from a parliamentary reply that she uses the Prime Minister’s second car, a Chevrolet Captiva SUV, and travels an average 660 kilometres a week in it.

She is also a frequent user of Villa Francia, for receptions and other similar activities, and, yet, the Office of the Prime Minister could not find the time to show the Auditor General around the villa for an audit.

More serious, it emerged last year that she had mediated at a meeting concerning armed forces promotions. Previous to that, she waded into controversy when she appeared to put down stay-at-home mums on Women’s Day.

There is no denying that, as the Prime Minister’s spouse, she can contribute immensely to charitable initiatives. But Ms Muscat must never forget who she is and that discretion should always come first, with each word uttered well-poised.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.