Gavin Gulia to face Public Appointments Committee before being reinstated as MTA chairman

Gavin Gulia will not be automatically reinstated as Chairman for Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), The Malta Independent is informed.

Prior to regaining the post he held only a week ago, he will have to go before the Parliamentary Committee on Public Appointments.

Earlier this month, a casual election was held to fill the Parliamentary seat left behind by Edward Scicluna, who resigned to take up the post of Governor of the Central Bank. The election was contested by former Rabat mayor Charles Azzopardi, MTA Chairman Gavin Gulia, and MCST Chairman and former PN MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando.

Gulia won the casual election. He resigned as MTA Chairman in order to be sworn in as an MP, but then in a twist, resigned from his post in Parliament just minutes after taking up his Parliamentary seat. Gulia had said that Prime Minister Robert Abela asked him to consider staying on

as MTA chairman due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as it “is a crucial time for tourism.” So he stepped down from Parliament.

Once this news broke, however, the PN had released a statement in which it said that the tourism minister is obliged by law to present the nomination of a chairman of a public entity before the Parliamentary Committee on Public Appointments. “In this case, Gulia’s resignation ended his term as MTA chairman and as such a fresh nomination for his re-appointment needs to be submitted for scrutiny,” the PN said.

This newsroom contacted the Tourism Ministry asking if Gulia will be bypassing this process since he was the former MTA Chairman since 2013 (the Public Appointments Committee was set up in 2017).

A spokesperson for the Ministry said that Gulia will in fact go before the Public Appointments Committee before being reinstated.

In a statement the PN had said: “nobody believes that Robert Abela and Gavin Gulia did not have everything planned before the scene, which showed disrespect to the will and choice of the voters.” As a result of the move, the PL were able to co-opt a new MP.

PL insiders told this newsroom that the PM had pressured Gulia to contest Tuesday’s casual election because he did not want either Azzopardi or Pullicino Orlando to take Scicluna’s seat. Over the weekend, it was revealed that Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disability Oliver Scicluna was to take Gulia’s place. He was sworn in on Monday.