Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/373141
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 31 AUGUST 2014 16 News MATTHEW VELLA SINGER and Labour 'billboard activist' Willie Mangion answered some straight questions from Radio 101 presenter David Thake about his €20,000 contract as a 'service pro- vider' whose role is allegedly that of locating rehearsal space for bands. Mangion described his role, be- rated by Maltese bands for being just a plum job that has served them no end, as having to locate a space for a hub for bands, that will also allow them to rehearse as well as record. "We are still looking for places. There is main interest in one loca- tion, which the ministry is seriously looking into. We are doing all this work, all the way. I'm doing all I can to get things done. I don't understand what the bands want," Mangion said when Thake read excerpts of a Mal- taToday article replete with criticism from bands. Mangion refuted suggestions that he was granted the €20,000 contract, which is now in its second year, for his political allegiance: he was for- merly a public personality support- ing Lawrence Gonzi in 2008, before switching sides to publicly support Joseph Muscat. "No, no. This is something that has been invented. The Prime Minister approached me and asked me wheth- er I could take up this job, and we are working on it… "I am not a politician, but a musi- cian. I have lived this career for the past 40 years. And I am working on it all the way." Is this job down to the fact that you support Labour? Thake asked. "I don't know what to say. Everyone knows that I voted for Labour," Man- gion replied. In reply to Thake's question wheth- er €40,000 was spent on "just looking for a garage", Mangion insisted that he was not looking for a garage but "a hub for musicians." Mangion remained tight-lipped on direct questions about the budget he was given by the government. "I'm a service provider, I'm not deep in government. My duty is to look for the place. I have various proposals from people who own the premises. We have found one place that there is great interest in. We are seeing what work has to be carried out on the place. I cannot just go and tell the prime minister, 'hey this is the place I want.'" Bad vibrations "Mangion has not promoted s**t," a metal band member who wished to remain anonymous told MaltaTo- day. "I never heard from him. I don't need Mangion promoting a product he doesn't understand or respect," he said. "We didn't ask for this. We don't need him. If this administration were serious, they'd talk to us, not to a mike jockey who most likely has never car- ried an amplifier onto a stage." Mario Vella from Brikkuni de- scribed Mangion's role as a "total sham" and a "20K embarrassment". "The Culture Ministry should be properly equipped to handle such infrastructural issues without any political interference," Vella said. "The only aid should have come in the form of professional consultancy with individuals who have time and time again acquitted themselves in the field." William Mangion stumped by Radio 101 questions Download the MaltaToday App now