Education Minister Evarist Bartolo insisted in Parliament that he has shouldered political responsibility for the wrongdoings allegedly committed by his chief canvasser Edward Caruana.

Following last week’s arraignment of his former canvasser with accusations of corruption, bribery and fraud while acting as an official of a government agency under Mr Bartolo’s wing, former Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil took the Education Minister to task on whether he should now assume political responsibility for his person of trust.

Dr Busuttil reminded Mr Bartolo that he should practise what he preached and assure the public that Malta “does not have a law for the gods and another for animals”.

However, in his reply, Mr Bartolo noticed that he had shouldered political responsibility as he insisted that he took the necessary action as soon as he got “tangible evidence” on the claims made against his canvasser.

The claimed case of corruption involving hundreds of thousands of public funds destined for school projects allegedly siphoned off by Mr Bartolo’s canvasser surfaced last year following the resignation of the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools’ CEO Philip Rizzo.

In a damning resignation letter, Mr Rizzo, who had been appointed by Mr Bartolo just a few months earlier, accused the minister of trying to dissuade him from reporting the alleged fraud and corruption.

At first, Mr Bartolo denied the claims stating that he had acted immediately.

However, following a challenge by Mr Rizzo to “consult his Hotmail account” – a reference to e-mail exchanges – the minister admitted that he was informed about his canvasser months before but said that he “waited for tangible evidence” before passing the case on to the police.

Mr Caruana was one of Mr Bartolo’s closest aides.

After spending some time at his private secretariat, Mr Caruana was given a €50,000-package position of trust at the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools – an agency under Mr Bartolo’s political responsibilities.

As manager for Summer Projects, a new post, Mr Caruana was made responsible for coordinating urgent works at schools, reporting directly to the minister.

A year before the latest claims surfaced, different bribery claims were made by a Gozitan contractor, Giovann Vella, who reported that Mr Caruana had asked him for a €30,000 bribe.

The police did not investigate the claims but instituted charges against Mr Vella for tarnishing the reputation of the minister’s canvasser.

The case against Mr Vella is still ongoing.