Entities falling within the Office of the Prime Minister’s remit spent over €9,000 on Facebook advertisements between June and October, close to twice the expense in the first five months of the year.

According to figures tabled in Parliament by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this week, four entities falling under his wing spent €9,297 in the period under review.

Dr Muscat was replying to a question by Nationalist MP Karol Aquilina.

The Malta Information Technology Agency spent about €5,253, up from the €3,087 in the first five months.

The Malta Communications Authority’s spending on Facebook adverts was also notably higher in recent months, reaching €2,318 from just over €840.

Close to twice the expense in the first five months of the year

The Malta Council for Science and Technology and Identity Malta spent €1,524 and €200 respectively.

According to the data supplied, the identity documents agency was the only one that cut its spending on Facebook adverts in recent months, slashing costs by half when compared to the January to May period.

Similar figures tabled in Parliament by Health Minister Chris Fearne and Economy Minister Chris Cardona exposed a stark contrast in the expenses incurred by the two ministries.

Entities falling within Mr Fearne’s ministry forked €42 on Facebook adverts between June and October, the highest amount spent at one go being €5.

In Dr Cardona’s case, entities he is politically responsible for spent more than €3,500 on Facebook adverts in the period under review. The highest amount, €826, was in relation to an advertisement campaign for the Sustainable Enterprise Award.

claire.caruana@timesofmalta.com

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