Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/488485
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 APRIL 2015 2 News PN says action against Debono depends on police investigations TIM DIACONO THE Nationalist Party will wait for the outcome of a police investigation before deciding whether to take any action against MP and former Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono, PN deputy leader Mario de Marco said. "It is still too early to tell whether there's enough proof of Debono's husband's involvement in the case," de Marco said when asked by Mal- taToday. "It is only fair to allow the police to interrogate who they want and let their investigations run their course before deciding what steps to take." MaltaToday has published an e- mail by a Gozitan contractor turned whistleblower to PN secretary gen- eral Chris Said that listed what he described as "works for votes" that he had carried out before the election and for which he has not been paid. The PN says action against Debono depends on police investigations. The email, sent last May, was one of several pleas that contractor Joe Cauchi had been making for pay- ment of €50,000 owed him for privae works commissioned by the Gozo ministry for constituents. It also referred to Giovanna Debono's hus- band, Anthony. Secretary general Said has insisted that he had no need to inform the police of the e-mail's contents be- cause he had "no proof of any abuse" and encouraged the police to extend their investigations to beyond March 2013, when the general election was held. "Cauchi was asking for my inter- vention for monies owed by third parties," Said said. "The Gozitan contractor had complained and talked to me about works for Gharb mayor David Apap. I had spoken to the mayor and he assured me that the works were commissioned by the Gozo ministry. "I informed the contractor of the situation and I advised him to seek legal advice." MaltaToday earlier revealed that Anthony Debono, then an officer in charge at the Gozo ministry's works division, had assigned construction jobs to private contractors who did work for constituents on the Gozo district. Gozo Minister Anton Refalo ad- mitted that he was made aware of the contractor's claims in Novem- ber. Labour CEO Gino Cauchi said that Refalo proceeded to pass on the contractor's allegations to the Whistleblower's Office. When MaltaToday broke the sto- ry last month, the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that he found out about the story from the news- paper itself. The next day, the police interrogated officials at the Gozo ministry. "Muscat must explain when he first got to know of the case, and whether he had lied when he had said that the government first got to know of the allegations through MaltaToday's report," the PN said in a statement. "Why didn't the government go straight to the police when it first got to know of the case? The way Mus- cat is defending Refalo raises serious questions." They pointed out that the details of Busuttil's meeting with Joe Cauchi, including the e-mail that passed be- tween them, were published in the Times of Malta. "Muscat has either not read this explanation or is trying to twist the truth," the party said. PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca inspecting an AFM guard of honour yesterday, Freedom Day. Other activities for the day included a ceremony at the Freedom Day Monument in Birgu, attended by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition (bottom, picture on the left)