Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/695268
WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION €1.00 Newspaper post WEDNESDAY • 22 JUNE 2016 • ISSUE 474 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY EDITORIAL • PAGE 9 In Malta since 1956 SUMMER OFFERS 21 st June to Santa Maria FREE GIFT WITH YOUR CANDY PURCHASE www.vdemajo.com.mt 137, Antoine De Paule Square, Paola. Tel: 21 66 11 22 Under pressure, Mifsud tells government he will not seek Central Bank role Deputy Central Bank governor Alfred Mifsud has given notice to the government that he will not accept an appointment as Central Bank governor MAT THEW VELLA DEPUTY Central Bank gov- ernor Alfred Mifsud has given notice to the government that he will not accept an appoint- ment as Central Bank gover- nor, after the designate-gov- ernor's suitability was thrown into disarray over bribery al- legations. "I have informed the hon- ourable prime minister that I do not wish to be considered any further for the post of governor of the Cen- tral Bank of Malta," Mifsud wrote. The allegations were made by his former compan- ion, Anna Zelb- st, who told The Malta Independ- ent columnist Daphne Carua- na Galizia she had witnessed Mifsud accept- ing payments of Lm50,000 ( € 1 2 5 , 0 0 0 ) three times between 1996 and 1998 from Ronnie Demajo, of the M Demajo Group, ostensibly for the installation of banking software at Mid Med Bank, where Mifsud was chairman. Mifsud has denied the al- legations, filing a libel suit against both Caruana Gali- zia and Zelbst. He has also accused Zelbst, 62, of black- mailing him after he refused to settle a list of demands following their separation, which included money, prop- erty, monthly allowances, and medical and education expenses for their two chil- dren. The couple were never married. The M Demajo chief execu- tive officer, Pier Luca Dema- jo has said his company was oblivious to the allegations that their Eastman banking software was pushed at Mid Med Bank using bribery. "We are talking about 20 years ago here. Our practice is that we keep records for 10 years. It's therefore impossible for me to adequately analyse the situa- tion. Generally speaking, we are not a very public group and do not like being thrust into the spotlight this way, but we have to safeguard our interests. We are discussing it at a board level and con- sidering our options." Ronnie Demajo is today 87 and not in a position to mount a public defence against the allegations. But Zelbst, who is also a government-appointed di- rector on investment arm Mimcol, has come out in public as the whistle- blower on the bribery allega- tions. PAGE 5 NGO watchdog takes issue with Montanaro's claim of 'lack of proper investigation' Actor Alan Montanaro resigns as president of Drama Outreach, citing reputational harm to Malta- Cambodia charity for children and orphans MATTHEW VELLA THE Commissioner for Volun- tary Organisations has taken ex- ception at claims by actor Alan Montanaro that there was a "lack of proper investigation" on his part into complaints about finan- cial shortcomings at his charity Drama Outreach. Montanaro yesterday an- nounced his resignation as presi- dent of Drama Outreach, after apologising for comments he made in private Whatsapp chats that earned him the rebuke of commissioner Prof. Kenneth Wain, for being "cruel and insen- sitive" towards the Cambodian children his charity was aiding. "I recognise this saga continues to cause reputational harm, not just on a personal level but more importantly to the work of DO Project in Cambodia (and Mal- ta)… I shall tender my resignation as president and as member of the DO Project committee with im- mediate effect," Montanaro said on Facebook. In a statement to MaltaToday, Prof. Wain yesterday said that he forwarded the complaints he had received on the matter to Mon- tanaro by letter dated 16 Febru- ary, requesting his explanations. "The complainant requested an- onymity which he had every right to do and to have respected. Mr Montanaro replied as follows on 27th February: 'When sponsors specifically request a receipt on a DO Project letterhead these are normally sent. If in this instance a receipt was not issued that was clearly an oversight on our part for which we apologise.' "It should be noted that the word 'oversight' was used by him not by me. This was my reply in my Investigation Report of 26 April: 'These qualified statements – 'as a rule', 'normally sent' and 'clear oversight' are not acceptable. It is the responsibility of the adminis- trators of the organisation which you chair as president to ensure full financial accountability in the way the organisation receives and manages its finances. "This means that its records must be accurately and consist- ently held, and must include all financial and other transactions. In other words all kinds of funds received by the organisation through fundraising, donations, and sponsorships of all kinds must be acknowledged, receipted, and reported in the organisation's annual financial statement and report submitted to the Commis- sioner." PAGE 4 Alan Montanaro with kids his charity helps in Cambodia Alfred Mifsud