Independent candidate Arnold Cassola joined calls for the Tourism Minister and Gozo Minister’s resignation following a damning Standards report against them.
“The arrogance of Clint Camilleri and Clayton Bartolo is unbearable and unacceptable in a democratic society. The two ministers should be fired immediately and any money that was stolen from the Maltese taxpayer should be returned,” Cassola said in a press conference on Monday afternoon.
Cassola’s complaint to the Standards Commissioner led to a report which found that ministers Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri abused public funds in employment of Amanda Muscat as ministry policy consultant. The investigation found she never penned a report or gave written advice.
Addressing the media, he said other ministers like Clyde Caruana and Alicia Bugeja Said had issued a sincere apology and returned public founds when found guilty of an ethics breach by the commissioner.
“The same cannot be said for Prime Minister Robert Abela. After I reported him, he was found guilty by the Standards Commissioner of spending €700 of taxpayer money to produce a video to advertise himself,” Cassola said.
Cassola said “the fish stinks from the head”, and for the good of the country, people must work to “eradicate the arrogance, clientelism and nepotism that are infesting Maltese politics.
“We are therefore asking the Public Accounts Committee in parliament to investigate this case in order to recoup that part of the €68,000 swindled from the taxpayer for doing nothing,” Cassola said.