Edward Zammit Lewis Defends Finding Jobs For Voters Following Yorgen Fenech Reveal
Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis has defended handing out jobs to his constituents following revelations that he asked Yorgen Fenech to provide jobs to voters.
“As a representative of the people I have a duty to help wherever possible within the limits of what is right,” he said in a social media post, where he outlined why he is refusing to resign.
Earlier, the Times of Malta revealed that the minister would occasionally reach out to the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder suspect to provide jobs for his supporters.
In the most recent exchange from September 2019, Fenech offered to give jobs to supporters of Zammit Lewis shortly after he had returned to Cabinet as European Affairs Minister.
Fenech was arrested in connection with the murder just two months later. However, he was already known to be the owner of 17 Black, the Dubai-based company linked to alleged government corruption, at the time.
The paper reported that the minister would ask Fenech for help with jobs for his supporters from as early as 2014, back when he was still Tourism Minister.
“I have a duty to help wherever possible within the limits of what is right,” he said.
“I maintain that I have always acted with integrity and honesty in every public office I have held. This is not just me but also my family who have never sought media, glory and political prominence in order to move forward.”
“I intend to continue to do so for one reason only; because I love the Labor Party too much and because I believe in people’s politics and I believe that the Labor Party is the only option for the good of the Maltese and Gozitan people.”
Zammit Lewis has been under fire in recent weeks over his relationship with Fenech and messages exchanged between the two.
Earlier this month, the Nationalist Party filed an urgent no-confidence motion in Zammit Lewis after messages he had sent Fenech, mocking attempts by the Opposition to have 17 Black investigated, were revealed in the press.
Zammit Lewis was also revealed to have referred to Labour supporters as fools (Ġaħan) in another exchange with Fenech. The two are understood to have exchanged over 700 messages in the months between January and September 2019.
Responding to the Times’ questions, Zammit Lewis said that as a “politician and representative of the people” he often tried to help constituents find employment “irrespective of whether in the public or private sector”. He insisted it was a normal practice among politicians.
Last year Lovin Malta revealed that Zammit Lewis and former Prime Minister had holidayed at one of Fenech’s hotels in France in 2014. Both have failed to prove that they paid for the trip themselves, despite pledging to do so.
Despite calls for his resignation, Prime Minister Robert Abela has so far stood by Zammit Lewis.
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