Transfer Of Tourism Minister’s Secretary And Girlfriend To Another Ministry Raises Major Questions
Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo is in hot water over claims that his girlfriend and former private secretary was transferred to another ministry for work she does not even turn up for.
The alleged relationship between Bartolo and Amanda Muscat has been an open secret for months. Muscat was allegedly ushered out of the Tourism Ministry, where she was working as Bartolo’s private secretary, to avoid another scandal similar to the one that engulfed former Education Minister Justyne Caruana and her partner Daniel Bogdanovic.
Lovin Malta was initially informed that Muscat had been transferred to the Gozo Ministry but rarely turned up. Both the Tourism Ministry and Gozo Ministry denied the claim when approached by Lovin Malta. However, the Shift News has published documentation proving the transfer.
The government’s internal server shows that Muscat was employed as a person of trust within the Gozo Ministry as part of the Strategic and Priorities Unit. That information has since been removed. It is unclear whether she still works there at the moment or has been moved onto another government department.
Questions will now be raised on the role of communications coordinators in the affair and their responses to journalists on the matter.
The Tourism Ministry had ignored questions sent by Lovin Malta for weeks, only issuing a terse reply that “Muscat does not work within the Gozo Ministry” once warned over imminent publication. The bulk of the questions remain unanswered and include details like Muscat’s enumeration, the date of her transfer, and the reason behind it.
Sources told Lovin Malta that an embarrassing incident at the Ministry had forced the transfer, but this is yet to be confirmed.
Lovin Malta is informed that the transfer was imposed to avoid a repetition of the ethics breach that saw Caruana resign in disgrace and become subject to a police investigation.
The newsroom has sent a further request for comment to seek clarification. However, no answer has been forthcoming.
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