Prime Minister opted for 'cheapest' car option

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat says he chose to use personal car for official use to save money.

12 June 2013, 12:00am
by Jurgen Balzan

2 min read

The Prime Minister Joseph Muscat opted to use his personal car as the official vehicle because it was the "cheapest choice."

Answering to a question by PN whip David Agius in tonight's parliamentary sitting, Muscat explained that given the choice between purchasing a new vehicle and receiving an allowance to use his own car, he opted for the cheapest option.

Muscat is receiving a €7,000 car allowance each year to keep using his personal car for official purposes, a decision which was harshly criticised by the Opposition.

"Firstly, on my appointment as Prime Minister I was notified that I had a right to two cars. I was also told that a new car was needed because the car used by my predecessor was €58,000 every year, apart from the costs involved in replacing the car when it was unavailable."

He added that after being informed that it would be unsustainable to keep the same car and was asked to choose a new car which reached a set of specifications.

"When I was looking at the costs, I realised that a new car would have cost the public coffers tens of thousands. I was also informed that ministers were allowed to use their private vehicles as the second service car and thought it would be a wise decision to reduce costs. I did it to spare the country money."

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil than asked whether the Prime Minister could have purchased a car below the total of €35,000 Muscat would be receiving in allowances over five years.

He also pressed Muscat to state whether it was opportune and dignified for a Prime Minister to use his private car for official purposes.

"Respect is not gained by the type of car the Prime Minister uses but through running the country's finances efficiently," Muscat replied, much to his government colleagues pleasure.

Muscat also added that insurance payments and repairs are paid by himself. "I have opted for the cheapest choice possible," Muscat repeated.

On whether other ministers should adopt the same model, Muscat said: " I lead by example and I invite the Leader of the Opposition to follow suit."

Jurgen Balzan was a MaltaToday reported from 2011 to 2017.

More from Jurgen Balzan

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I think that someone may be purposely misleading people on this issue. From the story that I read in The Times (2 May 2013), the maintenance costs (58k euros) being quoted were for the PM’s *OLD* BMW 7-series which was bought in 2003 (which would now be 10 years old). In fact the car that Lawrence Gonzi was being driven around in the last couple of years was the *NEW* BMW 7-series (first released in 2008, so definitely not the same car as the one with the maintenance issues!), which the same story said is now sitting in a garage somewhere not being used. If this is the case, then the costs (in the form of depreciation) for the new 7-series are still being incurred, and on top of this, the new PM is taking a 7000 Euro allowance – hence increasing the overall cost to the public purse. So is someone deliberately trying to mislead (would we be surprised?), or did The Times have its facts wrong?

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The opposition has a weak case. The PM is right. He is saving the country money, where PN squandered them (or worse) on their cars when they were in government. This issue will not win the PN back any of their lost souls - so let it go.

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This case reminds me of the SILGA posters by gonzipn during the election campaign. Unfortunately this Busullotti is still stunned by the wipe out which should have been attributed squarely to him. With this type of opposition and this type of leader the pn is going to get nowhere.

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Good ol Joseph , I agree with you fully. This is the way to economize.

Anette B Cassar •

Thorny, they are to be forgiven for not knowing what they do.

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Come on Simon... is this rocket science? A Prime Minister has a lot of running around to do and is expected to cover extensive mileage. The 7,000 EUR per year is there to cover running costs for the car. 1 - Added Petrol Costs 2 - Car service and repairs in conjunction with this above average mileage. 3 - Depreciation of the car in conjunction with this extensive mileage, which means the car will need to be replaced much earlier. If a new car with an average price of EUR 35,000 is purchased, you would still need to add the EUR 7,000 per year to run it.

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The cost of an official car comprises its purchase, insurance, licence, services, maintenance and fuel expenses. In 2003 the PN issued new measures for personnel engaged in private secretariats of Ministers. Each Minister's secretariat consisted of 20 officials, four of which were coordinators who received a salary equivalent to scale 7 (at par with the grade of teacher) and a car allowance of L2,000 or 4,633 euros if they opted not to make use of a government car. In this way government would not have to meet all the expenses related to the provision of a car as mentioned above. My arguement is that if an officer in a grade similar to a teacher was given 4,633 euros annually in 2003 by the PN government, why is the PN opposition making all this fuss when Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is receiving 7,000 euros in 2013 considering that he is Prime Minister and thus has much more commitments, journeys and distance to cover. Can anyone from the PN explain?

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Is this the way the Opposition intends to be constructive? How utterly PATHETHIC , no wonder Dr. Gonzi used to go and complain to the American Ambassador Molly Bordanaro of limited pool of talent within the PN had found it difficult choosing his Cabinet ! THANK YOU WIKILEAKS !