Former PBS TV host Lou Bondi was engaged by the Malta Gaming Authority last year on a direct order to train its staff in public speaking, according to new information submitted in Parliament.

His assignment, worth €7,375 for a two-month job, was on the list of payments by the MGA made available following a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Claudio Grech.

According to a spokesperson for the authority, Mr Bondi was directly engaged by the authority’s executive chairman and no public call was made.

Former PBS TV host Lou Bondi. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

“The services rendered by Mr Bondi were in relation to presentation skills, public speaking and TV/camera training for MGA staff and management.”

The training was provided between April and May 2015. During the time of this assignment, Mr Bondi was already serving as a consultant with the Office of the Prime Minister.

The services rendered related to presentation skills, public speaking and TV/camera training for MGA

Following Labour’s return to power in 2013, the former chairman of the Nationalist Party radio station was engaged by the OPM on a €54,000 annual contract.

Apart from assisting in the national celebrations organised by the government to commemorate anniversaries such as Freedom Day and Independence Day, Mr Bondi was also asked to work on any other event under the OPM’s direction.

Mr Bondi was recruited by the government for a position-of-trust contract signed by the OPM’s Principal Permanent Secretary, Mario Cutajar.

According to the information given in Parliament, between March 2013 and December 2014, the MGA spent more than €1.5 million on consultancies.

The list submitted by Economy Minister Chris Cardona includes payments for consultancy services given to David Borg, a former aide of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and current chairman of the Water Services Corporation, and TV presenter Jacqueline Scott.

In a reply to another parliamentary question, it resulted that the MGA spent over €1.5 million in consultancies between March 2013 and December 2014.

Among the consultants engaged were former Nationalist minister Michael Frendo, University professor Peter Xuereb, RSM Consulting Ltd, Grant Thornton, Ernst & Young and Nexia BT.