Franco Debono receives c. €50,000 a year from just two government sources

I have just had a couple of telephone conversations with Franco Debono to clear up certain matters.

The reason for my first telephone call was that I had heard he has fallen out majorly with his driver Mario l-Mendu/Mengu of Fgura and that he is no longer using him, though the driver has been kept on the public payroll to keep him quiet.

I had already received several messages telling me that Debono no longer uses a government-paid car and chauffeur, so when I received this anonymous call about the fight, I thought I had better ring him and find out.

He denied the fight or a falling-out but said that for the last three months or so he hasn’t used a government-funded car or state-paid driver. When I asked why not, he replied that he thought it was pointless having a car and driver because all he does is drive from home to Valletta in the morning, spend all day there, then go from Valletta to home in the evening.

There had to be a catch, and sure enough: “But I’m keeping the allowance instead. There’s an allowance you can take if you choose not to have a car and driver but use your own car instead, and I’m taking that allowance.”

“How much is the allowance?”

“Emminni, imma ma nafx.”

I started writing my story then thought I should ring back and ask him why he is no longer President of the Law Commission and is now the prime minister’s consultant on justice reform instead.

And it’s a jolly good thing I did, because it turns out that he is both, but nobody knew about his consultancy to the prime minister until he decided out of the blue to put up a Facebook status a few weeks ago.

So in answer to my questions, Franco Debono said that he has been the prime minister’s consultant on justice reform for the last two years or so, and that he is also President of the Law Commission. The Law Commission meets once a week or thereabouts, and he has no minimum specified working hours for his consultancy to the prime minister. He is on retainer and may need to do no work at all. He doesn’t have an office or even a desk at the Office of the Prime Minister.

Information published in parliament in the last few days reveals that he is paid €1,416 a month for his retainer to the prime minister, which makes it €16,992 a year.

Besides that, he is paid €18,401 a year as President of the Law Commission, plus €6,000 in allowances for that role. That brings it to €41,393. Then you have to add on the unspecified allowance for not using a state-paid car and chauffeur.

But of course, the big issue is not the money, but why he has been given the role of President of the Law Commission and put on retainer with the Office of the Prime Minister in the first place.