Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/990836
WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION €1.00 Newspaper post EDITORIAL • PAGE 9 WEDNESDAY • 6 JUNE 2018 • ISSUE 590 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY ANALYSIS Joseph Muscat mark 3 MALTATODAY SURVEY Traffic concern slips from top spot in the harbour regions PAGES 6 & 7 PAGE 5 MASSIMO COSTA FOREIGN Affairs Minister Car- melo Abela's refusal to confirm that work being carried out at his home in Zejtun was not being carried out by government workers during their normal working hours may lead to some serious repercussions. Abela's failure to be more specific about the work and his refusal to provide fiscal receipts will pile up more pressure on him. Party insiders told MaltaToday it was clear Abela had fallen into a trap because he had not realised how much evidence the journalist questioning him about the work al- ready had. Abela has denied ever giving or- ders to government workers to in- stall a verandah in his Zejtun home during their normal working hours, but he stopped short of saying such work definitely didn't happen at such times. Asked whether he categorically denied that the work was done when the workers were supposed to be undertaking their govern- ment duties, Abela said that as far as he knew, the structure was in- stalled on a Saturday "which is not a normal workday for this particu- lar worker." The Sunday Times reported last week that in 2015, when Abela was interior minister, he had a private rooftop verandah built and installed by ministry workers. In a statement yesterday, the Nationalist Party de- scribed the works as a clear abuse of power by the minister and called on him to resign. "I gave no instructions for work to be done during normal working hours and didn't force anyone to do the work," Abela said. "They were paid for their work, including for the material used." Some workers chose to do extra work outside their normal hours, he maintained. The minister did not directly spec- ify who had requested the work, but said that the only other people liv- ing in his home were his wife and children. While he confirmed that he had receipts for his payment to the workers, he did not say whether he would publish them or not. Abela evasive on work by government employees at his home KURT SANSONE GŻIRA mayor Conrad Borg Man- che has warned developers his council will not stop attacking abuse and urged them to respect residents, during a protest yesterday evening. The protest in Gżira was called in the wake of an incident in which Nationalist Party councillor Jeremy Cardona was almost run over by a developer last week. The developer was identified as Ivan Stivala, the brother of Malta Developers Asso- ciation secretary, Michael Stivala. The MDA had said it would take action against its member if the al- legations proved true, adding that it appeared the incident was the result of a personal tiff. Few residents turned up for the protest, prompting the Labour mayor to express disappointment at the poor turnout despite the nu- merous complaints received at the council. Gżira has some 130 active construction sites. The Nationalist mayors of Sliema, Swieqi and St Julian's – Anthony Chircop, Noel Muscat and Guido Dalli – turned up for the protest in solidarity. Gzira mayor takes developers' chief, Sandro Chetcuti, to task over construction cowboys PAGE 2 Foreign Affars Minister Carmelo Abela may have to face serious repercussions