Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/434696
WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION WEDNESDAY • 17 DECEMBER 2014 • ISSUE 395 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY €0.90 Newspaper post CONTINUES PAGE 5 Editorial - PAGE 8 HANDS OFF Fr Charles in court over sex abuse SEE MORE ON PAGE 4 Animal clinic deal shrouded in 'lack of transparency' TIM DIACONO AUDITORS could not find the evaluation report justifying the previous Nationalist government's decision to select Centru San Frangisk as the operators of an ani- mal after-care clinic. According to the National Audit Office report, the former Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs under George Pullicino had re- ceived four submissions after issu- ing a call for expressions of interest in 2009 for the running of an ani- mal clinic. However, the auditors could only locate the signed agreement be- tween the government and the win- ning bidder, and not the evaluation report justifying the government's selection of the winning bidder. "This is indicative of a lack of transparency that could lead to in- efficient spending of public funds," the audit report said. Moreover, according to the agree- ment, the winning bidder had of- fered to provide treatment to ani- mals "at the current market prices" without quoting any actual prices. "No comfort could be drawn from the fact that, at least, the most economical offer was selected," the audit report said. According to the original agree- ment between the government and San Frangisk Clinic, the clinic was bound to pay for the medication and rehabilitation of stray ani- mals brought in for treatment by the Animal Welfare Directorate. The Animal Welfare Directorate was similarly bound to pay for the medical treatment of pets brought to the clinic by animal welfare of- ficers. However, on the same date that the government and the clinic signed this agreement, they also signed a "contradicting" memo- randum of understanding that par- tially waived the clinic's obligation to provide free treatment to stray animals. According to this MoU, the clinic was obliged to issue a bill to the Animal Welfare Direc- torate for medical treatment costs, excluding doctors' fees, that it had rendered to stray animals. Green NGOs disagree with government's intention to tweak development boundaries CONTINUES ON PAGE 5 DIN l-Art Helwa and Flimkien ghall-Ambjent Ahjar have expressed complete disagreement with the government's intention to tweak de- velopment boundaries as announced by plan- ning parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon in an interview with MaltaToday last Sunday. On its part the opposition is calling on the government to present a justification for any extension of development boundaries and to submit any such proposal to a Strategic Envi- ronmental Impact Assessment (SEA). Din l-Art Helwa president Simone Mizzi in- sisted that the country is still paying the cost of the extension of development boundaries in 2006. NO CONFIRMATION ON HERRERA HIT-AND-RUN Parliamentary secretary José Herrera reportedly involved in hit-and- run incident. SEE MORE ON PAGE 4 PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD