Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/634260
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 31 JANUARY 2016 3 News Bank that built PN club still waiting to be paid CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Four years ago, in May 2012, the bank and the PN entered into a highly unortho- dox contractual arrangement in- volving the Siggiewi club. The agreement provided that the bank would purchase the club's ground floor from the PN, demol- ish the whole building and then rebuild it, on condition that the first floor would be returned to the PN – against payment. In fact the first floor now serves as the PN's Siggiewi club but the party has yet to pay the bank for the works carried out. As a result the Nationalist Party has now been called upon in a ju- dicial request to pay the outstand- ing amount of €187,454.90 for works carried out by Banif Bank in the PN's former premises. On 2 September 2015 the Na- tionalist Party was presented with a judicial letter calling on it to pay the outstanding amount or else face court procedures. The let- ter referred to various instances in the past three years when the party was requested to settle the debt. MaltaToday is informed that since then, the bank and the PN have come to some form of agree- ment and that legal procedures have been temporarily frozen. Under the contractual agree- ment, Banif Bank had to pay the PN €175,000 for the ground floor. The agreement was concluded at the time the post of secretary- general was held by Paul Borg Ol- ivier. Documents from researches car- ried out in notarial files show the sale to Banif and the agreement for works that would be carried out by the bank for the National- ist Party. MaltaToday questioned the PN on its current arrangement with Banif on its outstanding bal- ance with the bank, and why the amount owed by the party has been let unpaid. However, PN secretary-general Rosette Thake refused to comment, saying that "this is a disputed commercial matter and we do not comment on commercial matters". The renovated premises hosting the Banif Bank and the PN club in Siggiewi The judicial letter dated 2 September 2015 calling on the PN to pay the amount due to Banif and the contract which stipulates the sale value of the ground floor to Banif and the costs of the buildings and renovation work for the PN Toni Abela to serve in European Court of Auditors PRIME Minister Joseph Mus- cat has nominated Labour Party deputy leader Toni Abela to suc- ceed Louis Galea as member of the European Court of Auditors. Toni Abela, 58, was a former Labour Party president who was expelled in 1989 after taking a stand against the corruption in- side the party, pointing fingers at members of Labour's former cabinet group. He then was one of the found- ers of Alternattiva Demokratika, the Green Party, with the former Labour whip Wenzu Mintoff, to- day judge. Abela left AD after the 1998 election, together with Mintoff. He later secured himself a slot on Labour's TV channel One as a presenter of his politically- themed chat shows, before tak- ing yet another stab at politics by running for deputy leader for party affairs in 2008. Together with Joseph Mus- cat and Anglu Farrugia, Abela formed part of the leadership triad that won the 2013 elec- tions. He was appointed as an advisor to Muscat in the Cabinet and was also granted consultan- cies in various ministries. Toni Abela first stood for the general elections in 1987 on the 1st district when he obtained 6.62% of first preference votes and on the 4th district when he obtained 10% of first preference votes. Abela replaces Louis Galea, the former Nationalist minister, on the ECA, whose seat is in Lux- embourg. The role comes with a monthly €20,000 salary, as well as €40,000 in installation ex- penses, reimbursement of family and moving expenses – an an- nual salary of at least €240,000 apart from other regular allow- ances. The members of the ECA are appointed by the European Council, after consultation with the European Parliament, follow- ing nomination by their respec- tive member states. Members are appointed for a renewable term of six years. They are required to perform their duties in complete independence and in the general interest of the European Union. As well as being part of the Court, members are assigned to one of the five chambers. They adopt audit reports and opin- ions as well as take decisions on broader strategic and adminis- trative issues. Each Member also has responsibility for his or her own tasks, primarily audit.