Who has been spending big on their government credit card?
Ministers have swiped away €500,000 on their government credit cards since the June 2017 election, a series of freedom of information (FOI) requests by The Sunday Times of Malta show.
The information provided was broken down into two broad categories of spending, namely hospitality expenses and travel expenses.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat spent €12,200 on hospitality between June 2017 and August 2019.
His travel expenses billed to his government credit card topped €19,100.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s office said government credit cards are used for hotel, transport and food expenses, as well as IT-related expenses on ministerial delegations.
Dr Muscat spent €1,400 on hospitality in August 2017, €2,500 in January 2018, €1,600 in August 2018, €3,200 in January 2019 and €3,700 in August.
“You may wish to note that the Prime Minister never uses the OPM credit card when on personal trips. The assumption that every January and August are ‘holiday months’ is wrong and the Prime Minister’s commitments locally and abroad not only continue but are documented in public statements.
He justified his expenses during particular months to the hosting of two foreign delegations and...