MaltaToday previous editions

MT 7 June 2015

Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/523863

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 0 of 59

MiriaM Dalli A memo in 1996 from a consultant in- side Mater Dei's project management office (PMO) had alerted manage- ment of individual test results used in the construction of the hospital, which he described as "r*****h" [rub- bish] and warned that if core samples failed the testing, PMO would "have a big problem on our hands". The memo by Martin Smith, from May 1996 and sent to architect and project manager Martin Attard Mon- talto, is considered to be an important fresh piece of evidence for the now- reopened inquiry being led by retired judge Philip Sciberras, investigating the use of inferior quality concrete of the Mater Dei hospital. "I still maintain that the individual test results, due to their range, are poor (r*****h)," Smith told Attard Montalto. It is not known whether Attard Montalto alerted then health minister Louis Galea about the con- tents of this memorandum. inside information likely in Gaffarena property deal Newspaper post Sex therapist Maria Ali 'Boys will not always be boys' 14-15 YOUR FIRST READ AND FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.mALTATODAY.COm.mT maltatoday Concrete tests were 'rubbish', consultant said in 1996 JurGen Balzan InSIDe information from a highly- placed official inside the Government Property Division would have al- lowed the exact identification of lands that Marco Gaffarena needed for his own personal and business interests, a senior government source has told MaltaToday. But planning parliamentary sec- retary Michael Falzon has so far resisted calls for an internal inves- tigation into a massive €1.65 million compensation to Gaffarena in cash and select land parcels, for half-own- ership of a Valletta building housing the government offices of the BICC. Gaffarena originally took owner- ship of 25% of the Old Mint Street property in 2007 for €23,294, and then bought another 25% for €139,762 in February 2015. Gaffarena was compensated €822,500 in cash and lands in Janu- ary 2015 for the government's expro- priation of his 25%; and then another €822,500 in cash and lands in April 2015 for the other 25% – two months after its purchase. now the Opposition wants an in- vestigation by the Auditor General, particularly demanding whether it was Gaffarena himself who chose the lands granted to him in compen- sation. "All these lands have a strategic lo- cation and value and in one way or another, he has an interest in them, for example touching on lands he al- ready owns, like those in the White Rocks area which are earmarked for the development of hotels." Shadow justice minister Jason Azz- opardi declared that Gaffarena must have been informed of the govern- ment's intention to expropriate the building beforehand, saying the set- tlement "stinks of corruption." While Falzon has insisted that the deals were regular and that there was "no political hanky panky" involved, it is clear that the lands chosen are- intended at benefiting him directly: one of them is in Sliema, where Gaf- farena intends building a block of 10 apartments over four storeys. Member of Falzon's secretariat cannot explain why he accompanied Gaffarena personally to Government Property Department SUNDAY • 7 june 2015 • issue 813 • published every wednesday and sunday MFA boss Dédé on FIFA 'The footballing world needs to know the truth. No more lies, no more cover ups. The cleansing process has to be complete.' CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE! FREE WITH MALTATODAY CONTINUES PG 4 The construction firm behind Fort Cambridge in Sliema will build a 40-storey tower on the former Holiday Inn hotel... and another38-storey is also in the offing. PAGES 10-11 €1.40 PGS 14-15 CONTINUES PGS 8-9 SLIEMA.... or DUBAI? Barcelona crowned Kings of Europe in 3-1 victory over Juventus PAGE 53 June 2015 - Issue 66 www.vida.com.mt RUM 'N' RUN Should you be exercising on a hangover ? HOT AS HELL Fashion must-haves for the hot season

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of MaltaToday previous editions - MT 7 June 2015