Standards Czar report into €15,000 contract published: A parliamentary standards committee has agreed to publish a damning report into how Education Minister Justyne Caruana gave her friend Daniel Bogdanovic a €15,000 three-month contract for work he never carried out. The report found that Bodganovic was paid to review the National Sports School but did not write the report himself and repeatedly lied when questioned. The report says there was a concerted effort to hide Bogdanovic’s incompetence and that one of Caruana’s consultants, Paul Debattista, actually carried out the work. “It is my understanding that Minister Justyne Caruana used her discretion in a way that constitutes abuse of power, and broke with the ministerial code of ethics, by giving preferential treatment to Daniel Bogdanovic, and in particular by giving Bogdanovic a contract by direct order that he was neither qualified for or competent to carry out,” the report concludes.
Pathologists denounce ‘blanket mask rules’: New rules requiring masks to be worn outdoors do not make sense, pathologists said. The Malta College of Pathologists said the authorities should instead focus on limiting indoor gatherings. “Interventions related to COVID-19 need to be backed by scientific evidence or, at least, a strong theoretical rationale,” the Malta College of Pathologists said in a statement released on Monday. Scientific literature, the group said, suggested that less than 1% of COVID-19 infections are likely to be acquired in an outdoor setting, and even then after a prolonged length of time in crowded situations. In his reaction, Health Minister Chris Fearne said use of masks will also help protect against other illnesses.
Covid-19 Update: A total of 100 new daily cases were reported today while 90 people recovered. 20 people are being treated in hospital, 2 of whom are in the ITU.
Morning Briefing
PN Naxxar mayor refuses to resign, party’s ethics committee to look into issue
PN’s Naxxar mayor Anne Marie Muscat Fenech Adami has refused to heed party calls to resign after being accused of conflict of interest after she voted in favour of a massive residential and commercial complex on the parking lot of the former Naxxar trade fair grounds. The PN said it had asked her to vote against, with media reports revealing later that she is a company secretary in a firm partly owned by Edwin Mintoff, the project’s architect. In view of her refusal, PN’s Secretary-General Piccinino has asked the PN’s ethics committee and asked it to investigate her. “The PN had given the mayor clear guidance that the council should vote against the project,” the party said. “The PN expects the highest standards from its officials and those who represent it.” (Maltatoday)
Parliamentary Committee to discuss Justyne Caruana report today
Parliament’s standards committee will this morning debate whether discuss to publish the an investigative report by the Standards Czar regarding a €5,000-a-month contract that Education Minister Justyne Caruana handed to close friend Daniel Bogdanovic. The committee will discuss whether to publish the entire report after the commissioner found that Caruana breached the code of ethics. The Commissioner also recommended that the matter be passed over to the police for a criminal investigation. It has been reported that Daniel Bogdanovic was given a €15,000 contract by direct order to carry out a three-month survey of sports education curricula in state schools, with the Commissioner finding that the former footballer was unprepared for the task at hand, with most of the study allegedly being carried out by another person. (Times of Malta)
Covid-19 Update: Covid-19 cases remained stable on Monday with 78 new infections and 73 recoveries. Of 1396 active cases, 17 remain in hospital, two of home in ITU.
via Reuters
