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Karl Schembri
Conflicts of interest among Malta Tourism Authority board members have always been declared, according to Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech.
Reacting to questions sent by MaltaToday regarding potential conflicts of interest of appointed board members who are directly involved in the tourism industry, Zammit Dimech said: “Conflicts of interest can arise but what is important is that they are always declared and that the person involved does not take part in the decision making process. This practice has always been followed in the MTA Boards.”
The MTA board is made of tourism operators. As MTA members, they are responsible for decisions that affect them and others directly but Zammit Dimech says there are enough checks and balances to stop abuses immediately.
“There is enough cross sector representation (on the board) for persons to immediately notice if any unfair advantage is being taken by any person and that serves as a check in itself,” the minister said, adding that the board members were bound by a code of ethics drawn up by the government.
“I believe that the practice of appointing people involved in the tourism industry on the MTA board is a way to ensure that the best expertise on tourism is available at board level, and that the organization is private sector-driven, as it should be,” Zammit Dimech said. “The new MTA chairman (Chris Grech) does not himself come over from the tourism industry and is contributing his marketing experience as well as his ‘hands on deck’ approach in the best interests of MTA and the country. I also avail myself of this occasion to thank again the former Chairman for dedicating five years of service to MTA and doing so in an exemplary manner.”
The tourism minister changed MTA chairman John C. Grech last month in the midst of a controversy about the latter’s alleged conflict of interest.
While he was chairman, Grech represented a company called Big on Events that was discussing with the tourism authority about the possibility of organising powerboat races in Malta. This provoked criticism from MTA board members although Grech insisted that he had informed the tourism minister, MTA directors and individual board members about his involvement. He also hit back at his critics saying he was the victim of an “orchestrated attack” by people who had their own interests.
karl@newsworksltd.com
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