Gatt defends decision to remove oil board chairman

Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt has defended a 2005 decision to remove Joe Falzon, the chairman of Enemalta’s Advisory Board, which dealt with policy-making rather than oil procurement itself. He said he had breached recruitment procedures when he hired two graduates. Eventually, Enemalta initiated the correct procedure and one graduate was employed. Prof. Falzon was replaced as chairman by Roderick Chalmers but remained a member of the board till the end of his term. Labour MP Evarist Bartolo said last week that Dr Gatt had removed Prof. Falzon from chairman of the advisory committee after he had asked for two graduates to carry out research on the oil market and the exchange rate. He argued that people involved in the committee felt they had been used at the time in light of the revelations that were made recently with regard to oil procurement. Full story in The Times