Report implicates former PL general secretary in corruption

A report by the Permanent Commission Against Corruption found that it is morally convinced that in his capacity as a part-time special advisor to the Association of Local Councils, Jimmy Magro had requested payment whilst the tendering process for compost machinery was still open, Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Councils Owen Bonnici told Parliament yesterday evening in a ministerial statement.

Mr Magro served as general secretary of the Labour Party for 12 years until 2003.

However, Minister Bonnici said that the report found that no money appeared to have changed hands.

This had occurred between July and August 2014.

It was only in the middle of 2015 that the Director General for EU-funded programmes called on the Internal Audit and Investigation Department within the Office of the Prime Minister to investigate the allegations.

The minister also revealed that Mr Magro currently holds a position within Malta Enterprise, when questioned by Opposition MP Mario de Marco.

Dr Bonnici went on to say that the government will be taking all the necessary disciplinary actions when the police investigation concludes.

The fact that the Commission had presented a conclusive report on the matter shows that the institution is functioning unlike it did under the previous administration, the minister said.

“When we entered government we found that the Commission against corruption had 11 pending cases. In fact, the last time a report was concluded was back in 2008.”

Minister Bonnici stressed that both sides of parliament should be proud of this achievement as the members on the commission were selected on the recommendations of both PN and PL MPs.

He went on to say that this evidence that this government is committed to combating corruption, as he referenced the Whistleblowers Act and the Party Financing Bill.

“We want to make it clear that under this government if you do wrong there is no shelter to hide behind.”