Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1438848
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 DECEMBER 2021 NEWS KARL AZZOPARDI THE Nationalist Party has disas- sociated itself from calls made by party supporters to boycott the President's annual charity fund- raiser L-Istrina after George Vella signed the cannabis law. PN Secretary-general Michael Piccinino said the party has en- couraged all its candidates to support L-Istrina and the fund- raiser for the Dar tal-Providenza. "The PN leader has in fact also urged people to donate to L-Ist- rina during Saturday's address at Milied Flimkien." Piccinino said the PN will be participating fully as it has done throughout the years in both fundraising efforts. L-Istrina is a 12-hour telethon held on 26 December intended to collect funds for the Malta Com- munity Chest Fund Foundation. The Dar Tal-Providenza telethon in aid of the home for persons with a disability will be held on 1 January. Within closed Facebook groups such as Demm Blue and Ejjew Nazzjonalisti, several PN sup- porters have called for a boycott of the President's fundraiser after Vella signed into law the canna- bis legalisation reform. The PN voted against the re- form in parliament but some supporters are now calling on the party not to participate in L-Ist- rina after the President ignored appeals from several groups and individuals not to sign the law. Apart from comments on social media, some PN supporters have also called for the boycott during phone-ins on the party's TV and radio stations. The party's news outlet gave ample space to lawyer Franco Debono, who outlined the legal and constitutional obligations of a president when he disagrees with a law. The article on the Net News portal ran under the head- line: 'The Constitution demands the President does not sign a law he disagrees with'. Malta's parliament last week ap- proved cannabis legalisation that allows adults to possess up to 7g, cultivate four plants at home and buy the product from regulated clubs. The law became official last Saturday when President George Vella signed it. Prior to signing the Bill into law, the President had said the Constitution pre- cluded him from imposing his views on legitimate decisions tak- en by parliament. In June 2019, the President had expressed "major reservations" on the legalization of marijuana, stating while the drug was of ben- efit if used in a medical scenario, extending the legalisation of can- nabis for recreational purposes had to be treated with caution. "Both as a doctor and a father I have major reservations on how wise it is to extend the legalisa- tion of cannabis to go beyond its medical usage," he had said. Knowing Vella's stance on the issue, NGOs and academics op- posed to the Bill called on the President not to sign it after their demands to make it more restric- tive were dismissed. PN disassociates itself from L-Istrina boycott calls Nationalist supporters in closed Facebook groups and phone-in programmes have been calling for a boycott of the President's fundraiser L-Istrina after George Vella signed the cannabis Bill into law CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The investigation found that Caruana breached ministerial ethics when she employed Bog- danovic on an assignment he was unqualified for. Fabri, who is the permanent sec- retary in the education ministry, has ignored emails, phone calls and several reminders. Similarly, Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar has al- so not replied to questions as to whether any disciplinary action will be taken against Fabri. Standards Commissioner George Hyzler's report concerned a contract handed to footballer Daniel Bogdanovic by the minis- try in January this year to prepare a study for a reform of the Nation- al Sports School. The three-month assignment would have earned Bogdanovic €15,000, despite being unqualified for the job. He was also employed at the ministry under the Com- munity Work Scheme while con- tracted for the study. The Standards Commissioner also found that the draft report presented when the contract was terminated had been drawn up by the minister's consultant Paul Debattista despite Bogdanovic ap- pearing as its author. On Fabri, Hyzler commented: "In my view, Frank Fabri's obliga- tion was not to sign the contract, as opposed to signing it and then make elaborate arguments to try and justify it." Fabri's testimony was also deemed unreliable during the eth- ics investigation. During his first two testimonies, Fabri said that Bogdanovic was tasked with coordinating school maintenance activities, such as repainting and plastering. Two months later, Fabri said that it was impossible to know what every ministry employee was tasked with. "For us, Daniel Bogdanovic is just a name and surname," he told the commissioner. Fabri was also evasive on who identified Bogdanovic to carry out the National Sports School study. "All I can say is that we processed the request as was expected of us." Caruana has so far not faced the press since the Standards report was published last week. Last Monday, she was invited to an MCAST expo to give a speech but failed to show up. Prime Minister Robert Abela has refused to sack Caruana, insisting that he will wait for parliament's ethics committee to deliberate on the findings before taking a deci- sion. However, Abela has put pres- sure on Caruana to resign and in comments to MaltaToday said "everyone should shoulder their responsibilities, particularly those in the executive". 'Fabri's obligation was not to sign contract' - Hyzler Frank Fabri President George Vella with his wife Miriam at last year's L-Istrina