Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1361479
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 14 APRIL 2021 NEWS Charities 'lose' €1.4 million in TV donations due to technical glitch NICOLE MEILAK A technical hiccup in GO's reporting structure led to an erroneous double regis- tration of pledged donations during several telethons, including the Istrina campaign and two marathon fundraisers organised by the Nationalist and Labour parties. GO had been providing a specific infra- structural set-up for telethons organised between October 2020 and January 2021. However, a technical issue in these infra- structures led to a double registering of pledged donations from GO registered numbers. The main fundraisers affected by this glitch were the Istrina campaign organ- ised by the MCCF, Dar tal-Providenza and Caritas Malta; and two marathon fund- raisers organised by the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party. "The issue was a system-related one, which only impacted the reporting struc- ture. This means that donations origi- nating from GO numbers were reported twice," a company statement said. Given that it was a reporting issue, cus- tomers were not billed twice for their do- nation. The overall discrepancy between the recorded amounts and the actual figures amounted to around €1.4 million over all. The entities affected were only notified of the issue in February, when GO com- menced a reconciliation exercise and dis- covered the discrepancy. "We go through rigorous testing of the system before every event, however no matter how prepared we are, we can never fully anticipate the unexpected. We have been in discussions with the organisations impacted by this incident and are looking at ways of how we can support them going forward," a GO spokesperson said. "This incident is deeply regretted and we would like to reassure the general public that they were not billed twice for their generous contributions," said GO's spokesperson. Affected parties 'disappointed' The Archdiocese of Malta has since is- sued a statement expressing their regret with the issue. The Administrative Sec- retary of the Archdiocese, Michael Pace Ross, said that almost half of the reduction – equivalent to €654,000 – will affect the plans of Dar tal-Providenza and Caritas. Pace Ross expressed this sentiment di- rectly with Nikhil Patil, the Chief Execu- tive of GO, saying that this was not the lev- el of service that the Archdiocese expects from GO. Caritas issued a similar statement on the issue, confirming that the sum collected during the 'Maratona ta' Mħabba', broad- cast on local television stations on Novem- ber 14 last year, was in fact €424,170 and not €668,280. The Church charity said that several plans had already been drawn up for the sum raised, but took the opportunity to thank those who showed their generosity at the time. On the Nationalist Party side, secre- tary-general Francis Zammit Dimech said that the party is working to establish how much of the money has been lost. Howev- er he doesn't see this having a large im- pact on the donations collected, as most donations were handed in-person. L-Istrina, Dar tal- Providenza, Caritas and political party fundraisers are among those affected by the glitch The annual charity telethon L-Istrina collected €6.6 million in December A man arrested in possession of 224 sa- chets of synthetic drugs has claimed that they were all for his own use, a court was told yesterday. Inspector Mark Mercieca arraigned Nathan Hili, 22, from Hamrun on charg- es of possession of synthetic drugs in circumstances which denoted they were not solely for his personal use. He was also accused of simple possession of can- nabis. Hili pleaded not guilty and requested bail. The prosecution said the drugs were enough to service 200 people. The de- fence lawyer argued that despite the large amount, the drugs were not intend- ed for sale, stating that this type of drug was simply not sold in smaller amounts. Inspector Mercieca told magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech that the man had been arrested several times in the past but had always been released with- out charge as the drugs in his possession were not scheduled substances at the time. Recent amendments to the law had changed this, he added. Objecting to bail, the inspector added that Hili was found to be carrying three mobile phones and was observed to al- ways use a rental car, despite not having an income. Although he lived with his parents, they were having difficulty controlling him, said the inspector. The Court, after taking into account the nature of the charges together with the early stage of the proceedings, denied bail. The accused was not trustworthy enough to be granted bail at this stage, said the magistrate, ordering Hili to be remanded in custody. Man arrested with 224 sachets of synthetic drugs claims personal use