Direct orders for Gozo minister’s cousin, and a new position created for his wife

Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri is showering his cousin, George Scicluna, with public funds in the form of direct orders.  At the same time, the minister has also created a new directorate within the Gozo Ministry to be headed by his cousin’s wife, Tatiane Scicluna, with a salary of over €40,000.

The Shift’s investigations on information received from within the Gozo Ministry show Scicluna received at least four direct orders over the last 12 months through Citadel Video Communications and CVC Marketing.

Scicluna is best known in the broadcasting world for his decades-long Ghawdex Illum programme on state broadcaster Television Malta (TVM).

According to the latest data published in the Government Gazette, Scicluna’s companies received €30,000 for a new television show about sports in Gozo and another €9,999 for a Gozo Ministry advertising campaign Ghawdex Illum, which already amply promotes all the Gozo Ministry’s activities.

Camilleri’s ministry also gave his cousin a €7,800 direct order to insert subtitles into one of his programmes, and another €7,000 direct order for an advertising campaign on another TVM magazine programme, Malta u lil hinn minnha.

These direct orders come over and above the tens of thousands of euros Scicluna already receives out of the state coffers for TVM productions under the opaque Public Service Obligation funding, which is distributed annually to various producers – mostly those who are close to the current Labour administration.

Scicluna’s flagship programme, Ghawdex Illum, has been on the airwaves for over two decades now. It was the brainchild of his father, Alvin, who was friendly with Gozo ministers during different Nationalist administrations.

Scicluna’s wife Tatiane – a low-key lawyer recruited to the Gozo Ministry under a PN administration – is meanwhile slated for a significant promotion at the ministry.

Sources at the Gozo Ministry have pointed The Shift to a call issued last October for the ministry to establish a Legal Services Directorate. Before that, all legal services required by the ministry had always been furnished by the Permanent Secretary’s office.

The raison d’être behind the new directorate is, according to them, to place her in a headship position and on a director’s salary scale.

With the promotion Scicluna is expected to be her own boss, being the only lawyer employed at the ministry.  But despite having its own lawyer on deck, the ministry still outsources its legal services requirements to reputable law firms.

As matters stand, no other ministry has a specific directorate for legal affairs since such matters normally fall under the remit of the Office of the State Advocate.