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7 Mission Fund denies alleged misuse of funds in Tanzania project TIM DIACONO LEADING missionary organisa- tion Mission Fund has denied al- legations that it had abused funds allocated to it for a project in Tan- zania. The foreign affairs ministry had in November last year been warned that a building that was intended to house paramedics and doctors – for which the Mis- sion Fund was granted €42,500 in public funds for overseas assis- tance in 2015 – turned out to be nothing less than an extension to a convent. The building in question forms part of a large hospital complex in Makiungu that is run by Sister Maria Borda, a Maltese gynae- cologist who has been working in Tanzania since 1984 and who forms part of the Medical Mis- sionaries of Mary – a Catholic organisation for nuns qualified in health care. Indeed, the hospital is staffed by several MMM sisters from Malta, Tanzania and Nige- ria as well as several local health workers. In August 2015, a group of Mal- tese volunteers flew to Tanza- nia for five weeks to help in the construction of "staff houses for health professionals", the third of Mission Fund's projects in that hospital since 2010. Yet emails seen by MaltaToday show that the international de- velopment directorate had been warned that the project descrip- tion turned out to be deceptive. "I have been to Makiungu and have verified myself that the building which was meant to house paramedics and doctors is nothing else but an extension to the convent housing the MMM sisters," the email reads. The directorate dismissed this allegation, telling its sender that not enough evidence had been provided to substantiate such al- legations. Mission Fund secretary John Sammut, who was a member of the delegation to Tanzania, vehe- mently denied the allegation that the building was an extension to a convent. "The staff house is a building in and of itself and forms part of a large hospital complex that includes wards, X-Ray rooms, a pharmacy and a laboratory," he told MaltaToday. "The staff house was built to accommodate health professionals, the vast majority of whom are nuns with the Medical Missionaries of Mary, who are all health professionals." A Church spokesperson also de- nied that it had received any alle- gations about the misuse of funds in the Tanzania project, or that an investigation had been launched into the issue. tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2017 News TAKE YOUR AMBITION FURTHER PART-TIME COURSES MARCH 2017 APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN for shortcourses.mcast.edu.mt telligence." A Nationalist Party spokesper- son echoed these concerns, when asked for an official comment: "The police should always operate within the remit of the law. The law already provides for telephone interception in grave instances and the MSS should operate within such parameters. What is needed is a concerted effort in intelligence- gathering to determine who is be- hind the organised crime evidently raising its head in Malta." Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela has expressed outrage fol- lowing the Msida explosion, es- pecially given that this posed a risk to bystanders. The Cabinet has discussed the incident to find measures that can beef up police resources. But Opposition leader Simon Bu- suttil said that the government was either not fighting criminality seri- ously or else it was not managing to control it. He said one of the rea- sons is the choice of Commissioner of Police, Lawrence Cutajar, who he says earned his posting because of his political affiliation. It is also clear that the daytime explosions are linked to explosives that have been affixed to the vehi- cles under the cover of darkness: so would not regular roadblocks at night assist police in making it harder for criminals to transport explosives? Whether or not roadblocks could be effective deterrents or instru- mental in the fight against crime, is debatable. Data from parliamen- tary questions gives only a cursory glance at the hauls that road blocks produce. In 2009, 1,997 roadblocks across Malta and Gozo carried out by police officers fished out 2,191 people on traffic rules contraven- tions, and 16 cases of drug finds. In 2006, the FM carried out 130 vehicle checkpoints, which result- ed in 38 drug funds and two loaded shotguns in Gozo. In 1998, a total of 2,973 road checks were carried out, mainly revealing traffic breaches, but only two drug finds. In 1999, there over 2,477 police road checks: resulting in three stolen cars, one used in a smash and grab, one cannabis find and two persons with unlicensed transceivers. The AFM's road blocks were less – 680 – stopping 5,731 cars but resulting in 54 drug finds. Since 2010 however, the army ap- pears to have stopped its vehicle check points, according to a PQ in which home affairs minister Car- melo Abela says this was only a sec- ondary role of the army's, and that they only happen at the request of assistance from the police. Last week, a car driven by Romeo Bone exploded in Msida, in one of the country's busiest roads Victor Calleja, 'ic-Chippy' was killed in a car-bomb in Qormi in January Foreign affairs ministry had dismissed warnings that public funds for a staff house for doctors in Tanzania had been spent on extending a convent The hospital is staffed by several MMM sisters from Malta, Tanzania and Nigeria