Twice-paid PBS boss snatches €136,000 Lands Authority direct order

PBS Executive Chairman Mark Sammut has been given another hefty government direct order in defiance of the Prime Minister’s instructions for the government’s top executives to be barred from carrying on with their private businesses on the side.

According to a list of direct orders tabled in parliament following questions from Opposition MP Darren Carabott, Lands Minister Silvio Schembri revealed that a company fully owned by the state broadcaster’s chairman received a €136,000 direct order from the Lands Authority last year.

The document shows how Cursor Ltd was given the contract, without competition, in July 2022. The contract is for “the second phase of paperless”, the minister said without giving any more details.

The Shift is informed this is not the first such contract the PBS chairman’s company has been given by the Lands Authority and that it is tied to the ongoing digitisation of the Authority’s records.

The Office of the Prime Minister office is so far not responding to The Shift’s questions about how the PBS chairman is being allowed to carry on with his private business, despite the Prime Minister’s public declarations that government top executives should concentrate solely on their public roles.

According to Malta Business Registry records, Mark Sammut is the sole shareholder of Cursor Ltd. He is also the owner of another IT company, Mall Systems Ltd, which also receives several government direct orders – from the Health Ministry.

Sammut’s wife, Carmen, was for some time also involved in her husband’s IT business, even serving as Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne’s head of secretariat. She is currently heading Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg’s private secretariat.

The Shift recently reported how Sammut, a former consultant to Minister John Dalli, is receiving two financial packages for the same job from PBS.

Apart from his role as CEO, for which he is being paid over €100,000 a year, he is also taking home another €26,000 for chairing the company’s board, which, The Shift is informed, rarely meets.

Sammut had little to no experience in broadcasting when he was handpicked for the PBS job by the Prime Minister.

Sammut is receiving another government remuneration for his role as Malta MedAir chairman. PBS employees are not allowed to have second jobs without Sammut’s consent.