Economy Minister Chris Cardona has so far failed to explain his frequent solo travels abroad on official business and why he decided not to have any of his ministry officials accompany him.
An analysis by The Sunday Times of Malta based on information he presented in Parliament, shows that Dr Cardona has been going abroad frequently on ministerial trips, alone.
The only reason given in Parliament justifying these solo trips, some of them on weekends, was to take part in “business meetings”.
The trips, usually short, have taken the minister to Russia, Ukraine, Dubai and Monaco, among other places.
Asked to givea breakdown of the meetings he held during these trips, whom he met and whether a public official from an overseas Maltese embassy accompanied him during the meetings, Dr Cardona did not reply to the newspaper.
Ministers are usually accompanied by at least one official
Ministers are usually accompanied by at least one official from their private secretariat or a public officer during official travel abroad. In many cases, ministerial delegations are composed of more than two people including the minister.
The official accompanying a minister normally takes minutes of what was discussed, for public record.
It is not yet known whether any record has been kept of Dr Cardona’s frequent solo visits and whether it was the minister himself who took notes at these meetings.
According to the Ministerial Code of Ethics, ministers have to seek the permission of the Prime Minister before going abroad on official duty and have to send a report of the meetings held to the Cabinet Office after each and every visit.
Observers have told The Sunday Times of Malta that the frequent trips abroad by Dr Cardona alone to conduct official business are “very abnormal”, even by Maltese standards.
One such visit took place between December 29, 2014 and January 8, 2015 to Russia and Ukraine during the Christmas holiday season. Also, a particular weekend visit to Monaco in 2015 cost taxpayers almost €11,000.
Dr Cardona’s overseas travels have made the headlines in the past. Assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia had alleged that during a visit to Germany in January 2017, Dr Cardona visited a brothel, a claim which was vehemently denied by Dr Cardona and his advisor Joe Gerada. Both Dr Cardona and Mr Gerada instituted libel proceedings against Ms Caruana Galizia.
Another trip, to Dubai in 2015, was highlighted by the National Audit Office for the hundreds of euros spent on the mini-bar by the ministerial delegation. It later resulted that it was the minister’s then chief of staff who had racked up the bill on alcohol and was asked to reimburse the costs to the government.
The Economy Minister’s trips
Date | Destination | Reason given by Minister | Expense |
Feb 09-11, 2014 | Ukraine | Business meetings | €663 |
Feb 12-15, 2014 | London | Business meetings | €2,244 |
March 03, 2014 | Paris | Meetings in Paris | €1,153 |
July 03-04, 2014 | Frankfurt | Business meetings | €1,225 |
July 25-25, 2014 | London | Business meetings | €1,425 |
Sept 04-06, 2014 | Monaco | Business meetings | €1,860 |
Dec 01-02, 2104 | London | Business meetings | €1,932 |
Dec 29, 2014 – Jan 8, 2015 | St Petersburg/Kiev | Business meetings | €1,247 |
Feb 05-08, 2015 | Budapest | Business meetings | €3,394 |
April 02-05, 2015 | Dusseldorf | Business meetings | €2,229 |
April 15-18, 2015 | Kiev | Business meetings | €2,525 |
May 22-25, 2015 | Monaco | Business meetings | €10,951 |
June 19-24, 2015 | Ukraine | Business meetings | €4,245 |
Aug 03-06, 2015 | Turkey | Business meetings | €2,790 |
Sept 09-12, 2015 | Abu Dhabi | Business meetings | €2,881 |
Dec 16-20, 2015 | Odessa | Business meetings | €4,479 |
Mar 24-27, 2016 | Warsaw | Business meetings | €3,379 |
Sep 20-24, 2016 | Dubai | Malta Day and various business meetings | €7,182 |
Nov 24-27, 2016 | Dubai | Business meetings | €5,997 |
Sept 01-04, 2017 | Milan | Business meetings | €2,396 |