The University Students’ Council (KSU) and fifteen other student organisations have called for the “immediate resignation” of Ministers Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri.

In a joint statement, the sixteen organisations said that “the recent scandal involving Ministers Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri exposes yet again the deep-rooted lack of accountability in Maltese politics.”

“The appointment of Amanda Muscat, an unqualified individual with personal ties to Bartolo, to a lucrative position was a blatant abuse of power,” the organisations said. “This was confirmed in a report by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, unanimously adopted by the Committee for Standards in Public Life.”

They argued that however, “neither Bartolo nor Camilleri have resigned, and Prime Minister Robert Abela has failed to demand accountability. Along with lack of accountability, these events have also shone a light on the limits of the Commissioner’s role, which relies on political will for enforcement, something which Malta’s leaders have repeatedly failed to show.”

“Self-regulation and a toothless accountability framework are failing Malta,” they said. “This scandal is just the latest in a string of political abuses that erode public trust and normalise impunity.”

The organisations insisted that “Malta is owed ethical governance and transparency from our elected representatives. We are entitled to leadership that upholds the rule of law and prioritises the collective good over personal gain.”

They highlighted that “these events have shown the need of strengthening the Commissioner’s powers to ensure real consequences for wrongdoing – a crucial first step towards ethical and accountable governance.”

The organisations concluded by stating that “this should be accompanied by the immediate resignation of the Ministers involved to rebuild trust in governance and to ensure accountability for wrongdoings.”

The statement was endorsed by the following student organisations: SHS – Studenti Harsien Socjali, SDM – Studenti Demo kristjani Maltin, MKSA – Media & Knowledge Sciences Association, MHSA – Malta Health Students’ Association, MIRSA – Malta International Relations Students Association, ESA Earth Systems Association, Ghaqda tal-Malti, UESA – University Engineering Students’ Association, Betapsi Malta, GhSL – Malta Law Students’ Society, ALLT – Association of Linguistics and Language Technology, SACES, Studenti Attivisti, ICTSA – ICT Students’ Association, ELSA Malta.

Endorsed by the following student representatives: Kris Bajada, Michael Spiteri, Matthew Camilleri, Thea Sultana NS Marthea Grech.

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