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MW 7 December 2016

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2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2016 News PM stands by inquiry absolving aide of 'external pressure' CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Mus- cat also dismissed calls for re- sponsibility to be shouldered, arguing that if there was such a need, then it would have been identified by the inquiry. "The inquiry was carried out in a very transparent manner and all the facts have been re- vealed," he said. "There were hardly any instances under previous administrations whereby inquiries were or- dered into newspaper stories and then published in their entirety." Bogdanovic, 36, used to play in the UK Championship for Barnsley, Sheffield United and Blackpool, as well as for the Malta national team. He was arrested on 29 October at 7pm when his wife filed a report at the Victoria police station, together with her brother Fer- dinando Apap, over a threat- ening SMS she had received, and because Bogdanovic had allegedly pointed a gun to her face and, in another incident, threw an electric fan at her – accusations that Bogdanovic denied. However, as revealed by MaltaToday, he was released from police custody the fol- lowing morning – in time for that day's Xewkija match against Kercem. 'No more positions of trust' – Partit Demokratiku Partit Demokratiku, the f ledgling party led by inde- pendent MP Marlene Farru- gia, responded by calling for an end to positions of trust in government. "All public engagements should be made according to merit and strictly keeping with the needs of the nation," the PD said in a statement. The party lambasted Mus- cat's defence of Zammit as "fifty shades of incompetence" and one that sends the wrong message on standards in pub- lic life. "It is an admission that he does not understand the basic tenets of the responsibilities expected of high public office in a normal western democra- cy, wherein a public purse paid individual occupying a posi- tion of trust within the gov- ernment is expected to refrain from using his public persona to affect his private interests," the PD said. "When employ- ing people in key positions un- der the guise of 'positions of trust', the 'employer' becomes directly responsible for their actions. "People in positions of trust are to be scrutinised more by the public, as they are not em- ployed on the basis of merit, but on the basis of subjective trust." The party dismissed Mus- cat's argument that previous administrations failed to order inquiries into scandals revealed by the media. "Citing hap- penings in the last legislature is a lame excuse, since people voted for change and not for more of the same," it said. Joseph Muscat Bartolo denies learning TIM DIACONO EDUCATION minister Evarist Bartolo vehemently denied that a tenderer had warned him as early as February 2015 of allegations of impropriety in procurement pro- cedures at the Foundation for To- morrow's Schools (FTS) involving his former canvasser and driver, Edward Caruana. "What tenderer? I don't know that person and never met him in my life," he said when asked by MaltaToday at the end of a Cabi- net meeting. "If I were to claim that I met you at midnight and published that story in MaltaTo- day's Sunday paper, would that make the information true? "We are contesting the informa- tion that was published last Sun- day. Just because a story appears in a newspaper doesn't make it gospel truth." MaltaToday revealed on Sun- day that a supplier who had ten- dered for school furniture had complained that FTS procure- ment officer Edward Caruana – appointed as a person of trust by Bartolo – had suggested con- tacting Sandro Ciliberti, a Gozo- based businessman who supplied school furniture. According to the allegation, Ci- liberti had boasted that all win- ners of tenders would have to turn to him because only he had a unique "certification of design" for furniture as specified in the FTS tender. MaltaToday is informed that Bartolo had followed up this complaint, asking the FTS chief executive officer Philip Rizzo to meet the complainant. Instead, Rizzo asked Joseph Caruana, the permanent secre- tary at the education ministry, to meet the complainant. When the latter met Caruana, he was surprised to see Edward Caruana also present at the meeting and it dawned on him that the two were brothers. The complainant told Caruana that the certification of design quoted in the tenders prohibited any other company from provid- ing the furniture that was being requested, because the particular certified furniture was provided only by the Italian supplier work- ing exclusively with Sandro Cili- berti. A police investigation is under- way although the exact nature of corruption in the award of direct orders has not yet been estab- lished. Bartolo said he would take "steps" against the people behind the allegations and pledged to is- sue a detailed right of reply to the story. Prime Minister Joseph Mus- cat reiterated his full support for Bartolo, denying that the minis- ter's judgement was clouded by Bidder said Italian boasted of designs winning FTS tenders for 12 years CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 It all started in December 2014, when the tenderer met Bartolo ex- pressing interest to start bid- ding for FTS tenders. Bartolo said he would set him up with the person responsible. In January 2015, the tenderer met Edward Caruana for talks. The tenderer showed him bro- chures of the furniture he could supply and Edward Caruana explained the process and how and where he could apply for the tender documents. Between January and February 2015, the tenderer submitted a number of bids for the supply of furniture for schools around Malta and Gozo. In the beginning of April 2015, the tenderer received a phone call from Edward Caruana ex- plaining that a number of the bids had good prices, but they were not winning material due to the specific requirements of the furniture. Edward Caruana then put the tenderer in con- tact with Ciliberti who would in turn put the tenderer in contact with an Italian manufacturer – Camillo Siriani – whose furni- ture design would make the bid successful. Ciliberti met the tenderer with a quotation. According to the allegation, Ciliberti had boast- ed that all winners of tenders would have to turn to him be- cause only he had a unique "cer- tification of design". The tenderer has alleged that the Italian manufacturer not only boasted that his designs have consistently won FTS ten- ders for the past 12 years, but he even knew what the Maltese tenderer himself had submitted. In essence, the allegation raised with the minister was that the specific requirements of the FTS tender made it impossi- ble for anyone to win the tender, despite having the cheapest bid, with the exception of those who went through Ciliberti and the Italian manufacturer. Following this meeting, the tenderer spoke to Bartolo by phone to explain what had hap- pened. The following day, the tenderer received a phone call from Ciliberti, showing him that he was aware that he had gone to the minister. The tenderer took up the mat- ter with Bartolo, explaining the Ciliberti link and how the sys- tem was working. The minister said that he would "follow up", and the tenderer was called in for a meeting with Joseph Caru- ana, the permanent secretary. But to his surprise, the ten- derer also found Edward Caru- ana present for the meeting that took place at Joseph Caruana's office, after hours. Upon seeing this, the tenderer told Caruana that he had nothing to say: his concern had been about his brother, Edward, and the ten- dering process.

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