Deputy Chairman of ADPD – The Green Party, Carmel Cacopardo, sent a formal complaint to the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life and requested an investigation into the promotion of Johann Buttigieg to the post of Executive Chairman of the PA.
Cacopardo’s submission pointed out Buttigieg’s professional links and controversies in the past. The latter is currently a consultant to major developer Michael Stivala, who also heads the Malta Developers Association, and has been called into question on potential conflicts of interest.
Cacopardo argued that Buttigieg should not have moved directly from being a development consultant to the person responsible for regulating the same industry, and such an appointment undermined the credibility of the authority before the public: “humanly impossible for the appointee not to have ties with the same sector that was represented before, without an adequate cooling-off period”.
The ADPD Deputy Chairperson also referred to past controversies in which Buttigieg was involved, some of which were investigated and reported upon by the Commissioner’s office, as factors that should be taken into consideration.
Cacopardo called on the Commissioner to investigate the appointment, in view of the ethical standards expected from public institutions.
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