Arnold Cassola Alleges ‘Labour Favouritism And Clientelism’ In Transport Malta
Independent candidate Arnold Cassola has claimed that “labour favouritism and clientelism” is rife at Transport Malta in an open letter sent to Prime Minister Robert Abela.
In the letter, Cassola, who is a candidate on the 10th and 11th districts, claimed that in just over four years, the number of employees in this Authority has risen from 400 to over 1000.
“The Authority has become an Ian Borg fiefdom, with a great deal of cronyism concerning his constituents or core Labour sympathisers. This is demoralizing many qualified people in Transport Malta because it is difficult for them to get promoted as they are not strong Labour supporters,” Cassola said.
Through this letter, Cassola is asking Prime Minister Abela to immediately “clean up the filth going on in Transport Malta”.
“Arrogance has become the norm in Transport Malta and there are cases of people who have bad conduct and/or reputation but are still rewarded with promotions because they belong to the Minister Ian Borg’s or Labour’s camp,” he said.
“Worse than that, there are very serious cases of sexual harassment happening in Transport Malta, including an obscene case of a director of TM. His behaviour towards women is disgusting. And they try to cover up for him because he is an ardent Labourite,” he alleged.
Cassola also made reference to previous allegations of corruption emerging from TM, including the driving instructor who was caught taking bribes in exchange for a pass in the driving test, and the €90,000 contract given to the daughter of Ian Borg’s canvasser.
People have also been contacting Cassola to recount their own experiences within the authority where they encountered clientelism.
“Some months ago a Clerk within the HR Dept was promoted to Manager A, bypassing C and B. Is he a genius? No. The reason is simple: his wife is the sister of Keith Schembri’s wife!” one told Cassola.
“Latest promotions at Transport Malta – Three PL stalwarts. Two to executives and another to Asst. Manager. No proper educational background. And two can hardly write. But, most important of all, two are from Rabat. The most important qualification. From Ian Borg’s district. Getting things done,” another said.
Cassola concluded his letter by asking the Prime Minister to step in and make sure that the situation is rectified.
What do you make of Cassola’s allegations?
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