The Government is refusing to reveal the pay received by two top officials in government agencies who have been recruited without a call for applications.

Two parliamentary questions were submitted by PN Deputy Leader Mario De Marco, who asked for details of the financial package, including salary and benefits, of Jimmy Magro and Joshua Zammit.

They are respectively the chairman of a newly formed subsidiary of Malta Enterprise and the CEO of Malta Industrial Parks.

But the government said it was not in a position to reveal the details.

Claiming “confidentiality” and “commercially sensitive information”, Economy Minister Chris Cardona, who is responsible for the two entities, said both men had been appointed without a call as they were occupying “positions of trust”.

Economy Minister said both were occupying positions of trust

Soon after the general election, Mr Magro, the former Labour general secretary, was appointed executive chairman of the Major Projects Coordination Agency, a new section within Malta Enterprise.

His task is to coordinate the development of major projects such as the Life Sciences Park.

Mr Zammit, a former president of the Malta Employers’ Association and Financial Chief Officer at Air Malta, was appointed chief of the government company responsible for the management of industrial estates.

Mr Zammit took up the new position soon after being appointed by the government to serve as the deputy chairman of Malta Enterprise.

Both officials are paid through public funds.

This newspaper also asked Malta Enterprise to give details about the appointment of the two officials and their pay packages but the questions have remained unanswered.