MP was paid travel subsidy for board meetings she did not attend – minister

Nationalist MP Marthese Portelli attended just one meeting out of 11 board meetings of national waste agency Wasteserv in 2012, but was still paid her annual €3,494 honorarium, environment minister Leo Brincat has told the House.

Portelli was appointed to the board of directors of Wasteserv in 2008, where she earned an annual honorarium as well as a travelling allowance of €48.53 for every board sitting she should have attended.

But MaltaToday is informed that she was paid over €2,911 in travelling allowances by Wasteserv between 2008 and April 2013, despite having attended just one of her 11 board meetings in 2012 alone, and none of the two meetings in 2013.

This newspaper is not informed as to her attendance record in the preceding years.

Portelli, who is the president of the PN's executive committee, was appointed to the board of Wasteserv by the then minister George Pullicino.

Her €48.53 allowance for every board meeting attended was justified as being paid to Gozitan residents only, as a travel subsidy. Portelli however has her residential address in Birkirkara.

But replying to a parliamentary question tabled by government MP Anthony Agius Decelis, Environment Minister Leo Brincat this evening said that both the honoraria and benefits enjoyed by Portelli had not been regulated by a contract, but according to appointees' guidelines approved by the previous government.

"According to Wasteserv, the travelling allowance was granted in addition to the honoraria she received," Brincat said, adding that he had now been informed that the benefit was simply a 'travelling allowance' - and not because Portelli resided in Gozo.

According to the information given to the minister, "it is therefore understood to have been issued by the then CEO on the basis of the additional work that was expected by the said director."

Brincat added that at no point was this additional work defined.

"What we found out for sure is that, while we were led to believe that Portelli might have had additional work, information given by Wasteserv's chief financial officer showed that during 2011 she only attended one meeting out of 11," the minister said, adding that Portelli had been excused for all 10 meetings.

Out of the two board meetings held during the first four months of this year, Portelli did not attend any of them.

The minister also said that when Wasteserv's human resources office were asked about Portelli's attendance, the office described her presence at board meetings "as regular, except for when she was excused".

"This highly contrasts with what the CFO told us," Brincat pointed out.

Addressing the House, Brincat said such an attitude by high-ranking officials within the company was unacceptable. "This serves to justify why we have ordered an investigation into Wasteserv's operations," he said.