Rosianne Cutajar Resigned From Cabinet In 2021 – And She Was Paid €28,000 For It
A termination package of €28,000 from taxpayer money reached Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar’s pocket upon her resignation as Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms in February 2021.
The payment is another in the series of ‘Golden Handshakes’ seen upon the resignation of a Maltese cabinet member over a scandal, and lays bear how much a politician in Malta can make when being forced to step down.
Malta’s transition scheme does not take into account why someone in political power resigned – regardless if its due to a scandal or otherwise.
Cutajar’s resignation came after she was reprimanded for breaching ethics following an investigation by Standards Commissioner George Hyzler into her brokerage of a Mdina property deal involving Daphne Caruana Galizia murder suspect Yorgen Fenech.
She was later made to resign in February 2021, even if she retained her seat in Parliament.
Regardless of that fact, she was paid a full six-month salary which amounted to a whopping €28,000, as reported by The Shift News.
The payout becomes another in the series of ‘golden handshakes’, similar to the one received by former Minister Justyne Caruana, who pocketed a €30,000 lump sum following her forced resignation in January.
And it only goes up for Prime Minister’s – Muscat was reportedly given €120,000 from taxpayers after changing schemes for retiring cabinet members, and former Opposition Leader Adrian Delia was given just over €24,000 when he resigned from Opposition Leader.
Do you think politicians should not be paid when being forced to resign?