Housing Authority CEO Leonid McKay To Replace Mariella Dimech As Cannabis Authority Chief
Housing Authority CEO Leonid McKay is set to replace Mariella Dimech as executive chairperson of the Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC).
McKay has been CEO of the Housing Authority since 2018 and previously spent four years as Director of Caritas Malta. He was also chairman of the Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers.
Dimech, a psychotherapist who worked with Caritas for 21 years, was appointed to the role in January by then Reforms Minister Owen Bonnici for a three-year period on a contract worth up to €82,000 a year.
She was responsible for setting up the regulatory framework for non-profit cannabis associations, which were intended to cultivate cannabis for its members.
In an interview with Lovin Malta after her appointment, she said that her plan was for cannabis associations to be up and running by the end of the year.
“The biggest question is the club’s timeline – I think people are truly excited to both set them up as well as join them. It will happen in 2022 – it has to happen in 2022. Which month, I cannot say yet, but that’s what we are aiming for,” she said.
However, these associations have yet to materialise and Dimech refused to respond to several questions by Lovin Malta about ARUC’s operations earlier this year.
In a statement this morning, Dimech said the Home Affairs Ministry informed her yesterday that her services would be terminated with immediate effect.
“Over the last 10 months I have worked with no functional office, no staff, no budget and a political strategy and decision strategy I disagreed with,” she said.
“I was personally approached by Prime Minister Robert Abela because of my vast experience and history addressing drug abuse and harm. I hope that any future policy implementation will recognise the great sensitivity of this initiative and ensure that the first priority is not financial gain of the few over the general interests and fabric of our national communities.”
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