Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/509499
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 MAY 2015 News 3 3 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The story was broken by MaltaToday after a contractor who had carried out pri- vate works on behalf of Debono, was left out of pocket on pending mon- ies when the Nationalists were voted out of power and Giovanna Debono was no longer minister. Debono, who was the head of the works division in the Gozo ministry, is suspected of having provided the raw material for private construction works and then paying out contrac- tors through the ministry budget, on falsified invoices for other public works. During his police interrogation Debono chose to remain silent and say nothing. In one of the original depositions given by the whistleblower who first came forward with the revela- tions, the contractor said that after demanding €50,000 in unpaid work from the minister's husband, Debono came back with a part payment in a box "that smelt of mould" – suggest- ing that the money had been kept in a humid environment. The police have not searched the Debono residence for clues. Contrary to initial reports, Giovan- na Debono – who will stay on as MP but has resigned from the National- ist Party – was not investigated by the police, but merely accompanied her husband to his summoning at the police headquarters. MaltaToday is informed that Op- position leader Simon Busuttil con- fronted Giovanna Debono in his of- fice in parliament, and suggested to her that she should resign her seat with immediate effect. The move would have prompted a casual election that would have al- lowed Xaghra local councillor and PN candidate Kevin Cutajar to have a stab at her seat. Debono refused to give up her seat, arguing her innocence. Initially Busuttil stood by Debono after the latter denied any impropri- ety or knowledge of the allegations against her husband, and claimed that the allegations were being used for partisan politics and for "Joseph Muscat's ulterior motives". Busuttil repeatedly described the allegations on Anthony Debono as "mudslinging" from the Labour Party. However, he said on PBS's Reporter that he would act "depending on the results of a police investigation and on whether people end up charged in court in relation to the case". Police questioned several govern- ment officials following MaltaTo- day's report, and sealed the Public Works Department in Victoria to ensure that no documents or materi- als were removed. Three Gozitan contractors have come forward to substantiate claims that they were asked to carry out construction work for private resi- dences or businesses by the Ministry for Gozo. They would be paid from funds allocated to 'official' govern- ment works that had been sanctioned through the normal channels. But not all payments due to them were paid, and the case was blown open when the contractors' dues re- mained unsettled. Giovanna Debono's political style had long been queried by politicians and journalists. The works-for-votes revelations are the first evidence that point to the use of political influence to di- rectly use public monies to curry fa- vour with voters, abusively. It has led to the fall of Giovanna Debono from grace, and the sub- sequent decision by Chris Said to resign as PN secretary-general to instead dedicate his energies to the Gozo constituency, in the hope of re- versing the sweeping electoral swing there against the PN. Busuttil wanted Debono to step down as MP Busuttil (second from right) suggested to Debono that she resign, which would have prompted Xaghra councillor Kevin Cutajar (third from right) to move in for her seat