[attach id=256589 size="medium"]MCA chairman Antonio Ghio.[/attach]

Economy Minister Chris Cardona yesterday condemned what he called the “underhanded circulation” of documents that took place before the Labour Cabinet had even been formed.

He was speaking in answer to several questions by Opposition MPs over the “forced” resignation of former Malta Communications Authority chairman Antonio Ghio.

Dr Cardona said the resignation had been requested by a former permanent secretary and not by the Labour government.

According to a circular sent out by John Gatt, the former permanent secretary to Austin Gatt’s Ministry of Communications, Mr Ghio was “expected” to offer his resignation.

Principal Permanent Secretary Godwin Grima had also written a letter saying that even if in doubt, the offer of resignation had to be submitted “just the same”, Dr Cardona said.

The Government then had a choice of accepting or rejecting the resignation, same as the others.

He labelled as “malicious” the Opposition’s spin that the resignation had been forced and called on Opposition leader Simon Busuttil and Opposition whip David Agius to withdraw their allegation that he was misleading the Opposition and the House over the issue.

In answer to Opposition MPs, who at times quoted local media on the matter, he said it was “time to stop referring to newspaper stories and see what is really happening”.

Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil had asked repeatedly if the “forced” resignation was in line with the EU Directive on Telecommunications, adding that a national regulatory authority was to be treated differently to other boards.

Pushed by the minister, Mr Agius tabled a copy of Mr Ghio’s resignation letter and Dr Cardona said it confirmed the chronology of events.

Mr Ghio had written his letter of resignation on March 12, when the new government had not yet been constituted.

This meant that he had never been MCA chairman under the Labour government.

Answering a similar PQ and supplementary question by PN deputy leader for parliamentary affairs Mario de Marco, Dr Cardona denied that Lotteries and Gaming Authority chairman Mario Galea had a conflict of interest by acting as a consultant to another regulatory authority.

He said there was no competition between one jurisdiction and the other.