Robert Abela gets over €32,000 in direct orders from Tourism Ministry in just three years

Lawyer Robert Abela, the son of President Emeritus and former deputy leader of the Labour Party George Abela, was engaged to provide consultancy services to the Tourism Ministry, information tabled in Parliament shows.

He earned a total of €32,774 from the Tourism Ministry in exchange for consultancy services over the past three years.

Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis was replying to a parliamentary question by Shadow Minister for Justice Jason Azzopardi.

Dr Zammit Lewis said that in 2014 Dr Abela earned €8,371.67, in 2015 he earned €10,057.16 and in 2016 he earned €14,345.39, all in exchange for ‘consultancy services’ to the Tourism Ministry.

The answers tabled in Parliament state that the figures include the standard 18% VAT however it does not say whether the consultancy services were rendered as a result of a direct order issued by the Ministry.

Dr Abela is also engaged to provide “legal and consultancy services” to the Planning Authority. In 2015, his legal office, Abela Advocates, was given a €7,868 direct order by the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation for the provision of legal services.

Dr Abela’s wife, Lydia Abela, is the Labour Party’s executive secretary. Reports, backed up by extracts from the Government Gazzette, say that she is earning some €67,000 from the Automated Revenue Management Services Ltd (ARMS) for “legal consultancy services”. It has also been reported that Mrs Abela’s remuneration of €67,000 came in the form of a direct order, approved by the Ministry of Finance.

Robert Abela had planned to contest the 2013 general election on the PL ticket but had subsequently backed out. Insiders have been reported on various media platforms stating that Dr Abela could be one of the Labour Party’s star candidates during the upcoming election, however this has not been confirmed.