Minister says former permanent secretary, not government, requested MCA chairman's resignation

Economic Affairs Minister Chris Cardona this evening denied that the government had requested the resignation of Antonio Ghigo, chairman of the Malta Communications Authority, although it eventually accepted the resignation. Replying to questions by a number of Nationalist MPs including the Leader of the Opposition, Dr Cardona said the resignation was requested by the former permanent secretary in a letter dated March 12. “I did not know of the letter, I could not have known of this letter since the Cabinet had not been appointed by that date, and we were not yet ministers,” Dr Cardona said. The resignation, he added, was voluntary and was accepted. Opposition leader Simon Busuttil asked the minister not to mislead the House, insisting that the Labour government was responsible on March 12. When Dr Busuttil read the letter asking Dr Ghigo to resign, Dr Cardona requested a copy and insisted again that the permanent secretary had issued it “behind our backs”. In the letter, he observed, the permanent secretary had told all chairmen within the ministry to resign ‘as is customary’ with a change of government. He had also referred to a circular by the former principal permanent...