AG finds no issue with John Rizzo’s nomination to anti-corruption commission
● But finds problem with PN’s ERA nominee
Attorney General Peter Grech finds no legal issue with the Nationalist Party’s nomination of former Police Commissioner John Rizzo to the Permanent Commission Against Corruption, but has expressed reservations about its nomination of Janice Chetcuti to the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) board, according to a government statement.
News reports yesterday read that possible issues may arise with the PN’s nominees, given that Rizzo was a public officer in the recent past, and that Chetcuti is a PN local councillor.
The Permanent Commission Against Corruption Act reads:
“A person shall not be qualified to hold office as a member of the Commission if he is, or was, a Minister, Parliamentary Secretary, a member of the House of Representatives, a member of a local government authority, or if he is a public officer other than a public officer who is qualified to be appointed chairman of the Commission under subarticle (2):
Provided that where more than ten years have elapsed since a person was a Minister, a Parliamentary Secretary, a Member of the House of Representatives, a member of a local government authority or a public officer he shall not be considered to be subject to the exclusion from being a member of the Commission provided for in this sub-article if after having relinquished any such office he shall have served as a Judge or as a Magistrate for a period of at least five years.”
Speaking to The Malta Independent, PN secretary-general Clyde Puli said that Rizzo would legally be able to take up the post on the Permanent Commission against Corruption.
He said that the aforementioned law differentiates between current public officers and those who have held the position in the past, through the line “or if he is a public officer.”
“While in the case of ministers and others the law says if ‘he is or was’, in the case of a public officer it only says ‘if he is.’ That is the legal advice we have,” he said.
“In the past, a number of former public officers have been appointed so we have a problem.”
Puli stated that the PN believes the law gives Rizzo the right to accept the post if his nomination is approved, describing the former police commissioner as “a serious person in the fight against corruption.”
In a later statement, the government said it had sought the advice of Attorney General Peter Grech due to reservations regarding the eligibility of the two nominees.
In John Rizzo’s case, the attorney general said that a person who was a public official could serve on the commission, and the Prime Minister will advise the President to appoint him to the Permanent Commission Against Corruption.
In Janice Chetcuti’s case, the government statement read, the attorney general’s advice was that according to the Environment and Resources Authority Act, a person holding elected office, including local councillors, cannot be nominated to the board of the ERA.
The government will ask the Opposition leader to regularise his position.
Chetcuti is a local councillor representing the PN in Marsaxlokk. shouldn’t
PD suggests Alfred Baldacchino for ERA post
In a statement, Partit Demokratiku suggested that the PN nominate Alfred Baldacchino instead of Chetcuti.
“Alfred Baldacchino is an ideal choice – he was appointed assistant director responsible for the protection of biodiversity at the Environment Protection Directorate within the Malta Environment and Planning Authority until his retirement over a decade ago in 2007. His portfolio also includes the roles of screening and transposition of laws on biodiversity (EU environmental acquis) and assistant director of the Environmental Protection Directorate. He has an extensive environmental background stretching back many decades,” PD said.