Three key figures on the engineering board, which issues warrants for certified engineers, hold multiple roles in both the government and the private sector, raising questions about the board’s impartiality.
The chairperson of the engineering board, lawyer Noel Camilleri, concurrently holds five positions on government boards, was appointed Malta’s ambassador to Georgia, and is the president of Għaqda tal-Każini tal-Banda, the influential cultural organisation that represents all band clubs in Malta.
Besides being the longstanding chair of the engineers’ board, Camilleri also chairs the Drug Offenders’ Rehabilitation Board, serves as an umpire for Social Security’s board of examiners, serves as a member of the Employment Commission, and is listed as the substitute chairperson for the Information and Data Protection Commissioner’s appeals tribunal.
In addition to serving in these roles, Camilleri also provides “legal services” to multiple government entities, including the health, economy, and finance ministries, as well as additional services to the housing authority.
In the last five years alone, Camilleri has earned at least €162,768 from the provision of his services to these entities, in addition to remuneration from his multiple roles within government.
The engineering board’s deputy chairperson, Keith Chetcuti, was also appointed to the health and safety monitoring board. Chetcuti also serves as PBS’s CEO. Previously, Chetcuti was also appointed to the board of Infrastructure Malta.
As CEO of PBS, Chetcuti has largely followed the established patterns set by his predecessors in the state broadcaster. Recently, Chetcuti refused an FOI request filed by The Shift seeking more information on the contractual details of independent producers and presenters such as Ricky Caruana, Saviour Balzan, and Luke Dalli.
Another member of the board, Kenneth Chircop, also chairs the government’s aviation and aerospace committee. Chircop also holds a directorship position with international drone company Dronamics and lectures at the University of Malta.
