A government official blamed for causing the suspension of EU student funds was back at work with another agency under the Education Ministry barely a month after resigning from his post, The Sunday Times has learnt.
Mauro Pace Parascandalo, who resigned in June as coordinator at the EU funds handling agency (EUPA), was “deployed on assignment” with the Voluntary Organisations Commissioner, the Education Ministry has confirmed.
Mr Pace Parascandalo was one of three officials blamed for the suspension of EU funds that left hundreds of students who had applied for EU programmes in limbo earlier this year.
Although the officials resigned after an internal government inquiry attributed the suspension of funds to “ineffective management systems”, they had disagreed with the conclusions.
Eyebrows were raised some days ago when various local councils received an e-mail signed by Mr Pace Parascandalo in his capacity as executive secretary of the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector, asking them for help in drawing up a directory of voluntary organisations. The council falls within the remit of the Education Ministry.
A spokesman for the ministry defended the appointment of Mr Pace Parascandalo, who is also a Nationalist councillor in Żurrieq, insisting he had been a government employee for a number of years.
Mr Pace Parascandalo remain-ed a government employee, the spokesman added, since he had only resigned from the post of coordinator at EUPA and not from his employment with the government.
“In July, Mr Pace Parascandalo was deployed on assignment with the Office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations. He was thus not recruited by the said office,” the spokesman said.
The three officials at the Education Ministry, including the permanent secretary, were blamed for the suspension of EU funds for students’ programmes, with the inquiry board insisting the situation could have been avoided.
The board had found “no intent” by anybody to act irresponsibly but concluded that the positions of the officers responsible at the national authority – permanent secretary Christopher Bezzina, the director for policy development and programme implementation, Robert Tabone, and the national agency coordinator Mauro Pace Parascandalo – were no longer tenable.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com