Government keeps Bondì busy with €6,250 contract

Former TV presenter and chairman of Radio 101 Lou Bondì has been contracted out to give public speaking and presentation skills to employees of the Malta Gaming Authority for €6,250.

Bondì serves as consultant to the Office of the Prime Minister on a €54,000 contract, excluding VAT, for the Fondazzjoni Celebrazzjonijiet Maltin.

Bondì is now also carrying out training sessions for a group of 18 employees from the Malta Gaming Authority, providing TV, public speaking and presentation skills training to the employees, including the chairman and MGA’s own spokesperson.

Bondì is being paid €312.50 for each person, with the training sessions spread out over a period of five days for a total cost of €6,250.

The ministry for competitiveness said the payment includes “reviewing of videos, interviews and research, which the authority asked him to make in preparation for the said workshops. The training provided to its employees is part of an ongoing organisation-wide training programme aimed at developing the necessary skills, capability and enhance the professionalism of the MGA.”

The Malta Gaming Authority recently registered a €6 million increase in its revenues in 2014 and is expected to see an increase in the number of licences issued, which last year increased by 19% to reach a total of 519.

The MGA said these increases were registered after the authority underwent a restructuring process during which it strengthened a number of directorates, including the financial, compliance, regulatory, legal, research, enforcement and insurance departments.