Anton and Michelina Refalo

The Gozo Minister’s wife has just been appointed to a new post within the public service, jumping four scales and increasing her salary by €5,000 per year.

Michelina Refalo was previously employed at her husband’s ministry as an assistant principal and then at the health department in Gozo in a similar post, at scale 11, earning €17,000. This was a mid-level position within the civil service.

Following the privatisation of the Gozo Hospital, she has now been appointed to a scale seven management post — management support coordinator — within the Ministry for Education and Employment in Gozo. This means her annual salary has increased to €22,000 annually.

Sources within the public service say it is highly unusual for an employee to receive a promotion across so many scales at once.

Minister Anton Refalo had transferred his wife from another part of the civil service to his ministry’s office within a few months of being made Gozo Minister.

Results for a call made for the Education Ministry post, published on Friday, show Ms Refalo was ranked first as the preferred candidate for the position. The selection was based solely on an interview.

Sources from Gozo who spoke to this newspaper questioned whether the other nine candidates stood much of a chance when the minister’s wife was vying for the role.

The skill set required from the applicants included a thorough knowledge of legislation and policy on management and administration, and the ability to reach sound and independent conclusions on policy issues as well as providing innovative recommendations and effective solutions.

The applicant was also required to have knowledge of regulations, structures and practices pertaining to Public Administration and the Ministry for Education and Employment in particular.

One of the tasks in Ms Refalo’s new role will be to develop and maintain contacts with senior officials in other ministries, government organisations and the private sector.

She will also be responsible for “studying the utilisation of resources, including human resources” and “guide employee actions” as well as participating in the setting of the strategic direction and administration of the Ministry’s budget.

The job description also states she may need to travel abroad on official business.