Updated - See prime minister's reaction below - The chief of staff of the Economy Ministry will have to refund the €318 spent on drinks from a minibar in his hotel room during a visit to Dubai by a ministerial delegation, the ministry said this afternoon.

The visit took place between September 16 and 19 last year.

The delegation was headed by Economy Minister Chris Cardona and included chief of staff Mario Azzopardi and the minister's personal assistant Dana Bonnici.

The bill was flagged by the National Audit Office and revealed in a report to parliament on the workings of the government.

According to the NAO, the delegation spent €756 on alcoholic beverages, of which €318 were from a mini-bar. It said the spending was not related to official business but was still claimed as travel expenses. Some of the money was charged for meals.  

In a statement this afternoon, the ministry said that it had discussed the expense internally and decided that the official concerned had to refund the €318 spent on his hotel minibar. No mention was made of the rest of the spending.

The ministry said its officials had always carried out their duties in the best possible way.

This could be seen in the investment being attracted to Malta and the unprecedented number of new jobs created.

PN: CHRIS CARDONA IS CHANGING HIS VERSION OF EVENTS

In a reaction, the Nationalist Party said minister Chris Cardona was changing his version of events by the day.

First it was claimed that alcohol in Dubai was expensive, and now the chief of staff was being solely blamed for drinking it. 

The PN said it was useless of the minister to try to blame his chief of staff.  Dr Cardona was with the chief of staff when the drinks were consumed and, furthermore, the chief of staff was a ministerial person of trust and Dr Cardona's own business partner. 

The PN reiterated that the bill which the delegation ran up for drinks, at €756 for two days, was higher than a worker's minimum wage in a month.  

The party quoted the Maltese saying: Min hu mejjet fis-sakra u min hu mejjet għal qatra.

MUSCAT:REFUND DECISION WAS 'MATURE'

Meanwhile Prime Minister Joseph Muscat admitted this evening that he was "not pleased at all" about the issue involving the purchase of almost €700 in alcohol but felt that the chief of staff's decision to refund (some of) the money was "mature".

Asked whether he felt Chris Cardona's chief of staff should resign over the matter which amounted to misuse of public funds, Dr Muscat said he did not think it merited a resignation. 

The PN criticised Dr Muscat's comment, saying it was like it was okay to to steal but then return the money. 

 

 

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