Norman Vella

Norman Vella’s personal employment file had found its way to the Home Affairs Ministry although according to regulations, employee files had to be kept within their department, the Employment Commission heard this afternoon.

The Commission started hearing the case Mr Vella, the former presenter of TVHemm, instituted against the Prime Minister and the Principal Permanent Secretary claiming political discrimination in the way he was re-deployed from PBS to the Immigration Department.

Noel Grixti d’Amato, civilians personnel manager within the police force, told the commission that in 2007 Mr Vella had requested one year unpaid leave to work with Where’s Everybody as a journalist and producer.

This was extended twice (three years in total) which was the maximum allowed by law at the time.

The law has since been amended and one can now be deployed for a maximum of four extensions (five years in total).

Mr Grixti d’Amato said Mr Vella spent a total of five years with Where’s Everybody with the two extensions over the maximum being granted by the Office of the Prime Minister.

In September 2012, after five years with Where’s Everybody, he returned to the Immigration Department but was then deployed to PBS.

Asked about the movements of his client’s personal employment file, Dr Andrew Borg Cardona was told that according to June 28, 2013, records, the file went from PBS to the police, to the permanent secretary within the Home Affairs Ministry.

This led Dr Borg Cardona to sarcastically comment that Mr Vella’s personal file had made a detour to the ministry.

Lawyer Pawlu Lia, representing the Prime Minister, pointed out that it was ironic how the commission was dealing with a case against the Prime Minister for discrimination and yet Mr Vella had enjoyed positive discrimination twice when the extensions to his deployment were granted.

More than once, Dr Lia and Dr Borg Cardona were told off by commission chairman Michael Mallia for bickering and passing remarks.

The permanent secretary within the Home Affairs Ministry, Kevin Mahoney, said he had asked for Vella’s re-deployment to the Immigration Department.

He said that since he took over as permanent secretary in March, he had regular meetings with other directors and the Commissioner of Police, who wanted to restructure immigration to increase the staff complement and that was why Mr Vella was returned to the department.

Mr Mahoney noted that a number of complaints had been received from the public about Mr Vella who said he was politically biased.

He said that before redeploying Mr Vella, he had asked PBS which were the programmes he was involved in and when they would end so as not to stop him mid-schedule.

Mr Mahoney said when asked that he did not discuss Mr Vella’s case with Minister Manuel Mallia, he discussed it minimally with the new head of Civil Service Mario Cutajar, but he discussed the public’s complaints about Mr Vella with the Home Affairs Ministry’s chief of staff Silvio Scerri.

The case continues.