The conflict of interest involving two brothers, both hunters or trappers working at the government unit regulating hunting and trapping, is “perceived” and not real, according to the Office of the Prime Minister.
The OPM was replying to The Sunday Times of Malta over why no action had been taken to address the recruitment of Richard and Joseph Lia at the Wild Birds Regulation Unit that falls under Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes.
The recruitment conflicts with the public service management code that states recruitment of relatives in the same office should be avoided and was raised by this newspaper last January. Their appointment was among other questionable recruitment decisions at the WBRU highlighted by The Sunday Times of Malta.
The two brothers continue to work for the WBRU despite a commitment by the OPM last January to address the situation. Yet, the only change made was that one of the brothers had his desk moved to another office.
Asked why Mr Lia’s desk was moved if he was still working for the same unit and the government believed there was no conflict of interest, the OPM spokesman replied: “This physical proximity, despite structural and hierarchical separation, was deemed to create the potential for a perception of a conflict of interest even though no conflict existed in actual practice”.
This conclusion was drawn following investigations by the Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar
The OPM said this conclusion was drawn following “investigations” by the Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar.
Two months after the Labour Party was voted into power, the government established the unit to implement “government’s objectives in the field of hunting and trapping”.
The brothers have a history with the hunting lobby. Joseph Lia was a council member of the hunters’ federation (FKNK) when he was recruited – he resigned after his appointment.
He was formerly a nursing manager at Mount Carmel hospital. On behalf of the FKNK, Mr Lia was the author of a proposal for a derogation (exemption) from the EU Birds Directive to open a finch trapping season. Once transferred to the bird unit, he was tasked with assessing his own proposal on behalf of government.
His brother, Richard, was working at his side in the same unit. He was seconded to the unit because of “his qualifications and research”. Mr Lia’s thesis was “an investigation of the underlying factors that lead to the shooting of protected birds in Malta”.
The two brothers were not the only controversial appointment at the unit. Its head, Sergei Golovkin, was handpicked without a call for applications. The OPM justified this because the unit needed to be set up “swiftly”.
Mr Galdes also appointed advisor Albert Pace who was working from the same office even though political appointees should not share the same office as public service employees. Mr Pace is a licensed trapper and hunter. This newspaper also exposed the fact that one of the first tasks he took on was advising on the revision of a law that decriminalised bird callers – the use of which he was found guilty of in 2009.