Dawn Fearne

The eldest daughter of Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne has been given a direct appointment to provide architectural services to the government’s Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation (GHRC), the Times of Malta is informed.

Dawn Fearne, 26, who graduated as an architect and civil engineer from the University of Malta three years ago, will be paid €20,000 a year following a direct order approved last September.

It is not known what kind of projects Ms Fearne is working on.

Asked to state how Ms Fearne was identified for the position and what her specific assignment is, the GHRC chairman, Labour MP Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, said only that Mr Fearne’s daughter was engaged “to render architectural and civil engineering works to GHRC”.

Although according to the Government Gazette, Ms Fearne was given a contract for services through a direct order, the Labour MP insisted she had been engaged “after replying to a public call which was advertised on all local newspapers”.

Awarded contract a few weeks before she started working as a self-employed architect

Sources close to the GHRC told Times of Malta that Ms Fearne was awarded the contract only a few weeks before she started working as a self-employed architect.

Until October 2017, Ms Fearne was working at Model – a local, private architectural firm.

The GHRC, which is responsible for major infrastructural projects around the Grand Harbour, recently recruited former MP and Labour chief executive Gino Cauchi to head its executive team.

In 2016, soon after he was sacked from his position as parliamentary secretary due to his involvement in the Gaffarena Old Mint Street scandal, Michael Falzon (now Family Minister) was hand-picked for a €50,000 job with the government corporation without any call.

He was employed directly on the recommendation of the board of directors to act as a full-time lawyer.

Chairman Zrinzo Azzopardi justified the appointment, saying Dr Falzon had been identified as the ideal person for the job, as he had a sound background and the technical expertise required in contractual issues, as well as experience in public and corporate administration.