OPM forced to publish Cabinet Secretary Ryan Spagnol’s contract

The Office of the Prime Minister has been forced to reveal the contract signed with Ryan Spagnol, 33, a political aide to Robert Abela, following a year-long battle in which The Shift rejected the prime minister’s insistence on keeping the terms of his employment hidden.

The ‘Performance Agreement’ obtained by The Shift shows that Spagnol, a young public servant with less than 10 years of work experience before becoming Cabinet Secretary, was given a financial package totalling €86,000 – more than the prime minister officially earns.

The information was obtained following a year-long battle in which The Shift rejected the Office of the Prime Minister’s argument that Spagnol’s contract should not be made public.

The prime minister argued that Spagnol’s contract was a Cabinet document and merited secrecy.

The Shift asked Information and Data Protection Commissioner Ian Deguara to investigate, arguing that the OPM was interpreting the law granting confidentiality to Cabinet documents very widely and abusively.

Following his investigation, the Commissioner ordered the prime minister to make a copy available to this newsroom.

The information obtained shows that Spagnol was given a Scale 1 public service salary plus €38,000 in annual allowances – some are for work that should be part of the job for which he is already being paid.

A bonanza of allowances

He was given a ‘responsibility allowance’ of 27% of his basic salary (€48,512), amounting to €13,098.

Another 10% is a ‘special projects allowance of  €4,851. The Cabinet secretary, a constitutional post, is responsible for delivering major government projects according to decisions taken by ministers. Such an allowance is unusual.

Another 15% is an allowance decided by the prime minister as a performance bonus, as well as a €4,000 expense allowance and a €4,658 ‘car allowance’.

He even gets a “training allowance” of €3,000 – unexpected for someone given the Cabinet secretary position.

The full costs of fuel and mobile phone services are also covered.

Keeping it secret

Commissioner Deguara, in the conclusion of his investigation on the prime minister’s refusal to make Spagnol’s financial package public, said:

“It is clearly evident that the decision to appoint the Secretary to the Cabinet is not made by the Cabinet, and it, therefore, follows that the document requested by The Shift is not a document which has been submitted for the Cabinet’s consideration or was proposed by a Minister. This concretely demonstrates that the document requested by The Shift would not reveal any information which relates to discussions or deliberations of the Cabinet or decisions made by the Cabinet.”

He said that in the name of transparency and accountability, as sought by The Shift, the OPM’s decision was unjustified and ruled the contract must be revealed.

Spagnol was one of the principal backers of Robert Abela’s campaign to become the Labour Party Leader when disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat was forced to resign.

Despite his inexperience, when Abela became prime minister, Spagnol joined the Office of the Prime Minister. The promotion meant he shot up to a Scale 1 salary from a Scale 5 salary as a senior manager.

According to the rules, if Spagnol holds this position for four years, he will retain the top-tier salary scale for life, no matter which other position he has in public service.