Momentum reacts to Commissioner’s report: secondment system reflected a culture where political proximity translated into privileged access to state resources.

Momentum notes with concern the findings of the report issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life regarding the release of public employees to organisations linked to Michelle Muscat, spouse of former Prime minister Joseph Muscat.

While the report stops short of attributing direct political responsibility, it clearly identifies irregular practices, weak oversight, and preferential administrative treatment in the allocation of public employees to two organisations closely associated with Michelle Muscat.

Momentum believes the findings confirm what many citizens have long suspected: that the public service secondment system was manipulated in a dubious manner to benefit entities linked to the former Prime Minister’s family.

The report highlights:

• repeated breaches of established procedures;

• assignments of multiple public employees without timely agreements;

• urgent releases treated as priority cases;

• weak monitoring of how taxpayer-funded employees were deployed; and

• administrative practices that blurred lines between public service and private NGO operations.

• Particularly troubling is the finding that multiple employees were assigned even though the Government scheme normally allows one public employee per NGO, unless justified by special agreements..

• Such required formal agreements were sometimes signed months or years after assignments began.

Momentum stresses that this case must be understood within the broader legacy of governance failures under Joseph Muscat’s administration. Even if no direct instruction was proven, the environment that enabled such practices reflects a culture where political proximity translated into privileged access to state resources.

The party also notes that the Commissioner warned that inadequate verification mechanisms risk turning secondments into tools that serve private interests rather than the common good.

Momentum calls for:

1. Immediate reform of the public service secondment system to ensure transparency, fairness, and strict compliance with rules.

2. Independent auditing and monitoring of all seconded public employees.

3. Full publication of agreements and justifications for secondments to voluntary organisations.

4. Clear safeguards to prevent conflicts of interest and political influence.

Momentum reiterates that public resources belong to the people, not to political networks or privileged insiders.

Malta deserves governance built on integrity, accountability, and equality before the law.

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