Mario Vella appointed governor of the Central Bank

Malta Enterprise chairman Mario Vella has been nominated to be made the new Governor of the Central Bank of Malta with effect from 1 July 2016.

The Prime Minister said he had advised the President of Malta to appoint Vella - a former Labour Party president – after nominee and deputy governor Alfred Mifsud turned down the nomination since bribery allegations against him became the subject of a police investigation.

The Prime Minister thanked Prof Josef Bonnici for his contribution during his term as Governor. “Prof Bonnici served the country in an excellent manner in this role and in his previous roles as member of the Court of Auditors and as a minister.”

Vella will be replaced at the helm of Malta Enterprise by Mario Galea, the chief executive officer of Malta Industrial Parks.

In a reaction, the Nationalist Party said Vella's nomination should be submitted for a hearing in a parliamentary committee to ascertain that the Malta Enterprise chairman had the necessary qualifications in finance and monetary policy for the Central Bank's top job.

"Instead of putting the national interest first, the Prime Minister has chosen the partisan interest: the job requires a person whose independence from government requires it to criticise government policy if it wants to bring about changes and to ensure there are checks and balances in the country's economic and fiscal policies."

The PN said that the Central Bank governor's role should be submitted to a two-thirds vote in Parliament, or at the very least have the nominee submit to a parliamentary hearing.

"The PN believes both sides can agree on the appointment of Rene Saliba, who spent long years inside the Central Bank in important roles and who currently serves as chairman of the Fiscal Advisory Council, a post the Opposition supported."

In a retort, Labour said that when in government the PN had appointed a former Cabinet minister as current governor. "The Prime Minister has never stooped so low so as to denigrate Prof. Josef Bonnici's nomination... it is quite incredible that the PN calls the nomination of the new Central Bank governor 'partisan'."

The PL gave short shrift to the Opposition's proposal for a parliamentary hearing. "One wonders why the Opposition did not table it before since it was known to all that the post of Governor would become vacant on 30 June 2016. Instead of a half-baked proposal, the government has already announced it is preparing comprehensive legislation providing for parliamentary hearings for regulators and other office-holders, something the previous administration of which the Opposition leader formed part, failed to do for 25 years."

Mario Vella was formerly  director of foreign direct Investment services at Grant Thornton and Chief Executive at the Malta Development Corporation. He was visiting professor at Edinburgh Napier University between 2007 and 2012. In 2005 he was visiting lecturer at the Graduate School of Economics and International relations of the Università Cattolica in Milan and the Università di Urbino. He has been visiting senior lecturer at the University of Malta for many years.

Dr Vella was also President of the Labour Party during the mid-nineties.

Mario Galea will be appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Malta Enterprise. With a career of over 30 years at Malta Enterprise and its predecessor Malta Development Corporation, Galea has occupied various important posts including those of Head of Project Evaluation and Chief Officer Investment Promotion.

In March 2013, Galea was appointed Principal Chief Officer responsible primarily for foreign direct investment. In February 2016 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Malta Industrial Parks Ltd and a director on the Board of Projects Malta.

Galea read for a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Management at the University of Malta.