Lands Authority won’t publish Parliamentary Secretary’s wife’s contract

The Shift Team - 22. June. 2023

The Lands Authority has refused to disclose the engagement contract of Maxiline Bonnet – wife of Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds Chris Bonnet – with the argument that she does not occupy a senior position of any public interest.

Following The Shift’s reports that the Parliamentary Secretary’s wife has been given no less than four different government positions, the Lands Authority was asked to provide her contract and working conditions to establish how Bonnet, a lawyer by profession, manages to juggle four jobs at the same time.

But the Authority, which is being micromanaged by Lands Minister Silvio Schembri, has refused to divulge information about her role as ‘Senior Professional Officer – legal’ by citing exceptions to the Freedom of Information Act.

According to the Authority, since Bonnet does not occupy a headship post and does not take managerial decisions, her conditions and engagement contract are not in the public interest.

Apart from her full-time job at the Authority’s legal department, which has been made dependent on external lawyers, Maxiline Bonnet was also given a part-time contract as a person of trust with Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo.

While the PS’ wife has no expertise in any of the sectors within Refalo’s portfolio, she is being paid an extra €1,000 a month for just 10 hours of work at Refalo’s private secretariat.

According to the Ministerial Code of Ethics, Cabinet members’ relatives are not allowed to be engaged or be given positions by ministers or parliamentary secretaries.

However, today’s Cabinet members have found a creative way to circumvent the rules by having their relatives engaged by their colleagues instead.

Maxilene Bonnet is not alone in this interpretation of the code of ethics and others have done the same in relation to their spouses, girlfriends or even siblings.

These include Ministers Chris Fearne, Jo Etienne Abela, Roderick Galdes, Clayton Bartolo, Clint Camilleri and others.

Apart from her appointments from Anton Refalo and Silvio Schembri, Bonnet was also appointed as board secretary of the Asset Recovery Bureau by Justice Minister Jonathan Attard and as a member of the Foundation for Maltese National Festivities by Minister Owen Bonnici.

Chris Bonnet – who is under investigation for using his official government car to take his family on holiday to Sicily – is a Parliamentary Secretary within the Economy Ministry, which is responsible for the Lands Authority.

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Jools Seizure

2 years ago

So this is the transparency that was promised! Clearly a politically exposed person whose tax-funded remuneration is being kept secret by a public authority. You couldn’t make this up!

Guest

Paul Pullicino

2 years ago

They simply employ each others’ family members, sidestepping the rules and laughing in our face.

Guest

carlos

2 years ago

don’t expect any better from a corrupt muvment – it’s in their dna – to make piga of themselves and to hell with the rest.

Guest

Charles

2 years ago

These are a corrupted lot. Kieku mintoff gia tahom daqqa ta sieq il barra mill gabinet.

Guest

Charles

2 years ago

Ghandhom xjahbu dal hallelin tal poplu.

Guest

Michael Satariano

2 years ago

“According to the Authority, since Bonnet does not occupy a headship post and does not take managerial decisions, her conditions and engagement contract are not in the public interest.”

They are in the public interest simply because she has been given multiple contracts with several government entities and she carrying all her roles in a satisfactory manner is implausible. That is unless she only does with a couple of hours of sleep every night. What an industrious woman.

Guest

Out of Curiosity

2 years ago

This useless chap of a so called onorevoli, is not only wasting tax payers? money by having him forming part of the Executive, but this lucrative opportunist continues to benefit from a situation he found himself into, by vesting the role of an ill fabricated politician, this time, by pushing his wife to benefit from government contracts here and there, presumably also, by exceeding the limits of any human being when it comes to one?s possible performance. WHAT A SHAME!

Guest

Leli

2 years ago

Kulhadd jihanzer u l haddiem jibki , anke ftiet overtime hadulu !

Guest

Francis Said

2 years ago

Not in the public’s interest.
Who is paying her various salaries?
The taxpayers, so the public has great interest, not the contrary!!!

Guest

makjavel

2 years ago

Only Crooks , Thieves , Defrauders hide the loot.
These are PUBLIC SERVANTS paid from OUR MONEY.
If they do not tell , then we have the right to imagine what goes on and how much they get paid. The first question is ” What are they being paid for”. The next questions ” What professional qualifications do these have that fit the job” The next question ” Was this a vacancy created for a friend or a result of firing somebody else to make way”
By comparison we can compare with Money Lenders and Drug dealers.
These are the ones who keep their incomes secret.

Guest

Mark Debono

2 years ago

Another oink oinker and they care not who knows and in fact brag about it?

Guest

Carmelo Borg

2 years ago

Capcap GAHAN TA POPLU halli jerdaw u isiru sinjuri min fuq darkhom
MEQMEW.

Guest

Ray Farrugia

2 years ago

Jekk joghgobkom turuniex aktar qzieqes ghax se tqabbduna depression!!!

Guest

Carnel camilleri

2 years ago

Mintoff was of the same kind only presently we have more information from the media, than during the Mintoff era when we had only one source of information through Govt Controlled Broadcasting.. It seems that you have forgotten Lory Sant, Camilleri tal-Magic Kiosk, and the rest who Mintoff gave them a free hand.