PN Writes To Speaker With Request For Urgent Standards Committee Meeting To Discuss Justyne Caruana Ethics Breach
The Nationalist Party has formally requested that Parliament’s Speaker Anġlu Farrugia urgently convene the Standards Committee for it to discuss an ethics breach by Education Minister Justyne Caruana.
Last week, Standards Commissioner George Hyzler found Caruana guilty of a breach of ethics in her handing out a direct order worth €15,000 to former Daniel Bogdanovic, a man she is understood to have had a romantic relationship with.
Prime Minister Robert Abela has refused to sack the minister in light of the probe, choosing instead to await a decision by the Standards Committee, which is however not due to meet until mid-January at the earliest.
This means that Caruana’s report would only start being discussed over a month after it was concluded.
In view of this, the PN’s MPs on the committee, Therese Comodini Cachia and Karol Aquilina have written to Farrugia, calling on him to convene the committee with urgency.
“We feel that Parliament cannot keep avoiding facing the fact that Minister Justyne Caruana has been found guilty of a breach of ethics and that she abused her power when she gave preferential treatment to her companion using public funds,” the MPs said.
They said they were available to meet at any time this week or the next, insisting however that the current state of affairs could not be tolerated any longer.
“The fight against the culture of impunity that has taken over the country must continue every day and in every circumstance. It cannot stop for holidays,” they added.
As representatives of the people, they said they had an obligation to ensure the highest standards of behaviour. This was also required of them by the Constitution, which states that MPs must answer to Parliament.
They called on Farrugia to take the necessary steps to ensure that the committee meets as soon as possible.
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