The director general of the National Statistics Office, Reuben Fenech, stepped down earlier this month for “personal reasons”, he confirmed yesterday.

Mr Fenech said he had resigned at the beginning of the month. He cited “personal reasons”, saying it was time to move on and follow a new career path. NSO sources indicated that Mr Fenech’s relationship with the Finance Ministry was not always smooth.

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna is known to have been informed about Mr Fenech’s sudden departure.

The resignation was only acknowledged by the NSO on Friday after the Times of Malta had broken the news of his departure.

The Malta Statistics Authority said on Friday that to ensure continuity, it had appointed the most senior NSO director, Etienne Caruana, as Acting Director General, noting that a call for the post of director general at the NSO will be published in due course.

Mr Fenech was appointed in May 2015 after the government decided not to renew the contract of his predecessor, Michael Pace Ross. Mr Pace Ross’s resignation, the appointment of an acting director general and the eventual appointment of Mr Fenech were all publicised through The Malta Government Gazette and official MSA statements.

Just a month before the MSA had decided not to renew Mr Pace Ross’s contract, the NSO was publicly criticised by Prof. Scicluna, who said its employment statistics did not give the true picture of the situation.

Mr Fenech’s contract was up for renewal in May 2018.

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