Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/717204
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 AUGUST 2016 TIM DIACONO THE Local Governance Board has accused former Birkirkara mayor Michael Fenech Adami of breach- ing public procurement regulations when issuing contracts related to roadworks, car rentals, computer desks and cleaning. The damning report says that the former PN mayor had person- ally given work to several companies without issuing calls for tenders or even gaining council approval. It instructed the director of the lo- cal governance department to take all measures it deemed fit against Fenech Adami, who is the son of for- mer Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami and brother of PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami, and his former executive secretary, Arthur Pizzuto. The former mayor has vehemently denied the findings, dismissing them as an act of "political vengeance" by the Labour government and Birkirkara's incumbent PL mayor, Joanne Debono Grech. The Nationalist Party also refused to accept the findings, given that Ronnie Pellegrini – a former acolyte of Lorry Sant and current chief of staff to civil liberties minister Helena Dalli – is one of the three members on the local governance board. The board said that Michael Fenech Adami had contracted V&C Contractors to carry out roadworks without issuing a call for tenders or even informing his fellow coun- cillors. Indeed, the company only signed a contract with the new La- bour-led council in June 2013, after the works were carried out. "Fenech Adami's defence was that only two contractors – V&C and Polidano – had declared inter- est in carrying out the roadworks, but that the latter had informed the local council's architect that they wouldn't carry out works for the council until outstanding dues had been settled. Given that the works were of an urgent nature, he said that granting the contract to V&C was a natural decision and that this was informally agreed upon by the council," the local governance board said. "This is a clear example of bad governance, whereby a mayor acted unilaterally without formal council approval and breached established public procurement regulations. V&C Contractors were also com- plicit in the regulation breaches, and indeed only signed the contract with the council after carrying out the works." The local governance board also flagged how the council had paid €30,000 on car rentals from Davico Services and €54,000 in photocopi- er rentals from Corex International, without first issuing a call for ten- ders. This is despite the amounts involved having exceeded the legal limits through which a council can grant a contract by direct order. The contract with Davico Services was signed only by Fenech Adami, despite the law stating that council contracts must also be signed by the executive secretary. In another case, Fenech Adami had purchased 10 computer desks from G-Force Electronic Services for €11,900 without issuing a call for tenders or seeking council ap- proval. No financial records of the procurement for the desks could be found in the council's books. Fenech Adami had said that the desks were purchased as part of the council's Youth Empowerment Scheme and that the money would be recouped by the fees paid by youths to attend this scheme. How- ever, the current Labour council re- turned the desks back to the com- pany, after only €5,000 had been paid in fees. In a similar case, Fenech Adami had personally awarded a €2,809 contract to General Cleaners for the rental of 10 recycling bins across Birkirkara between 2013 and 2014. The contract was not approved by the council or signed by its execu- tive secretary and exceeded the le- gal limit for direct orders. Elsewhere, Fenech Adami had personally agreed to pay an extra €3,000 a month to Northern Clean- ing for its contract to empty rub- bish skips that it won by tender. The former mayor insisted that the extra payment amounted to a vari- ation of the original tender. How- ever, the local governance board warned that the variation was over 30% the cost of the original tender – well over the 10% limit for varia- tions – meaning that a new call for offers should have been issued. This was confirmed by auditors at Grant Thornton and Mazars. 'Political vengeance by Labour government' – Fenech Adami In a statement to the press, Fene- ch Adami decried the report's find- ings as "political vengeance" by the Labour government and Birkirkara mayor Joanne Debono Grech, the daughter of veteran Labour MP Joe Debono Grech. "The report is full of false accusa- tions and half-truths, and it is clear that the board reached its conclu- sions on the basis of politics rather than facts," he said. "I had pro- vided the local governance board with a detailed version of events and referred to several official documents," he said. "Indeed, the board's reaction to my testimony was an admittance that the entire investigation was a waste of time. "Joanne Debono Grech wants to cover up her failures as Birkirkara mayor by casting a shadow on the work that I carried out to help Birkirkara residents during my ten- ure as mayor," he said. 'We will not accept justice by Ronnie Pellegrini' – PN The Nationalist Party dismissed the board's findings, on the ground that one of its members is Ronnie Pellegrini, an acolyte of the late La- bour Minister Lorry Sant and cur- rent chief of staff to civil liberties minister Helena Dalli. The other two board members are Noel Bar- tolo and Arthur Ellul. The PN argued that Pellegrini is well-known for his pro-Labour bias and that he indeed recently came out in favour of political discrimi- nation. The party was referring to Pellegrini's recent Facebook com- ment in reaction to a report that workers who are PL supporters are enjoying preferential treatment at the St Vincent de Paul home for the elderly. When he posted the story on Facebook, Pellegrini wrote "Hekk ghandu jkun" (That's how it should be). "We have no faith in a local gov- ernance board that includes a per- son like Ronnie Pellegrini, who instigates and promotes political discrimination," the PN said. 12 News MALTA CALL FOR CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER LANDS AUTHORITY (JOBSPLUS Permit No 430/2016) The Lands Authority is seeking to recruit a Chief Executive Officer. Further details are available on the Government Gazette of Friday, 19 th August, 2016: (https://gov.mt/en/Government/Governm ent%20Gazette/Employment%20Opportu nities/Pages/Employment%20Opportuniti es.aspx ). Applications as detailed in the afore- mentioned edition of the Government Gazette, are to be submitted at the HR Branch, Finance & Administration Directorate, Office of the Prime Minister, Auberge de Castille, Valletta or by email on: human-resources.opm@gov.mt, by not later than noon of Monday, 29 th August 2016. Former Birkirkara mayor rapped for public procurement breaches Local Governance board accuses former PN mayor Michael Fenech Adami of frequently breaching public procurement regulations but Opposition dismisses investigations as politically motivated Michael Fenech Adami was accused of breaching procurement rules but the PN (Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, right) says the accusations are politically motivated Shooting range proposed in Ghajn Tuffieha quarry JAMES DEBONO A shooting range is being pro- posed inside a disused quarry cov- ering 10,000 square metres at Ras il-Gebel in Ghajn Tuffieha, in the vicinity of the Roman Baths and other protected archaeological sites. A planning policy on shoot- ing ranges inside disused quarries is still pending. The application is being presented by shooting en- thusiast Patrick Azzopardi, owner of the outlet Shooting Supplies in Mgarr. Plans presented to the Plan- ning Authority include an earth mound and embankment around the shooting range, a 100-metre shooting range area, a 25-metre shooting range area, three tacti- cal bays and parking spaces for 16 cars. The Planning Authority is currently formulating a new pol- icy regulating the development of shooting ranges. Objectives for the new policy issued in 2014 state that the "use of quarries and military installations" should be considered for the development of shooting ranges. The final policy would need to take into consideration the noise and direction of the shooting to- gether with the deposits of lead and other material. The policy is still being finalised. Plans to develop a shooting range in the vicinity of the Mount St Jo- seph retreat house in Mosta were aborted after the Russian-owned U-Group failed a due diligence process required for the allocation of public land in the area. The de- velopment was met with protests by residents, the Church – whose Jesuit Order owns the retreat house – and environmentalists. In December 2015 an extensive shooting range covering a site area of over 10,000 square metres out- side development boundaries was proposed in Siggiewi, in the imme- diate vicinity of the 'Arka ta' Noe' zoo, in an area known as Bur tal- Ghaqba. Plans envisioned a car park for 73 cars for visitors, a clubhouse and a classroom for tuition. The devel- opment would also include a store, a shooting bay and a tactical bay. The site is described in the appli- cation as a 'disused quarry'. But aerial photos indicate that the site has not been used as a quarry in the past 20 years and parts of the site have been re- claimed by vegetation.