Dalli and Gatt’s ministries absorb economic services portfolio

The economic services ministry at the Auberge d’Aragon is in for a change following former Economic Services Minister Josef Bonnici’s failure to be elected.
It will now be up to Finance Minister John Dalli and former Justice and Local Councils Minister Austin Gatt to take the ministry in hand and operate its separate departments.
Dalli has been appointed Minister for Finances and Economic Services, whilst Gatt is now Minister for Information Technology and Investment.
His new appointment comes as no surprise, having been the architect of the e-government initiatives in the last four years of Nationalist administration, as well as having landed Microsoft Corporation onto the island.
The Economic Services portfolio has now been partitioned into Dalli’s and Gatt’s ministries.
As part of the Information Technology portfolio, Gatt will take in his hands all information and communications technology and data protection. Gatt’s new portfolio now also includes all government investments and parastatal companies under his ministry’s auspices.
These include: Air Malta; Maltacom; Malta International Airport; Dydocks and Shipbuilding; Water Services Corporatoin; Enemalta; and Malta Freeport.
Gatt will also be taking the Public Broadcasting Services under his auspices, a section formerly in Education Minister Louis Galea’s portfolio.
John Dalli will be entrusted with the remaining section in the economic services ministry: financial regulation; Malta Enterprise; economic development policy; small business and the self employed; import and export trade; competition policy; consumer protection; Malta Standards Authority; Industrial Property; and the Malta Statistics Authority.
Edwin Vassallo has been re-confirmed as Parliamentary Secretary for Economic Services.
Following George Hyzler’s failure to get re-elected, his post as Parliamentary Secretary for Economic Services has been taken up by Tony Abela.