Former President says responsibility for car show ‘ultimately fell on his shoulders’

President Emeritus George Abela yesterday told a court how, during his time in office, he felt the ultimate responsibility for events such as Paqpaqli Ghall-Istrina should be borne by him.

“At the end of the day I believed that responsibility fell squarely upon my shoulders,” declared the former President from the witness stand yesterday morning as Magistrate Aaron Bugeja continued to hear evidence about the 2015 Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina incident in which a supercar crashed into spectators, injuring several.

The sitting continued from where it left off on Wednesday, but the uncertainty over the functioning of the Malta Community Chest Fund (MCCF) and its involvement in the annual charity event, which marked yesterday’s hearing, was eased as the former President gave the court a clear picture of how things worked during his tenure.

Throughout his hour on the witness stand, Abela stressed that ultimately, the responsibility for any event organised under the MCCF banner, rested squarely on the President’s shoulders.

The former head of State explained how, under the MCCF statute, decisions were taken by the Board of Administrators, which was made up of constituted and nominated members and presided over by the President.

Events were overseen by a central committee, which was overseen by the President’s aide de camp, at the time Capt. Mark Mallia. Capt. Mallia would coordinate all of the various sub-committees tasked with different fundraising activities, one of which was Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina.

During his time in office, this central committee would hold meetings in the dining room at San Anton palace. President Abela would strive to attend every meeting and made it a point to ensure that he was fully briefed on the outcome whenever he was unable to.

“The decision-maker was Mark Mallia but all were on board and ultimately I bore responsibility for those decisions,” President Emeritus Abela stressed, explaining how upon assuming office he had brought together a team of enthusiasts and experts who, on a voluntary basis, had collaborated on the popular annual motoring event.

Tonio Darmanin was the “kingpin,” Abela said. He had been the first to approach the well-known local car enthusiast, bringing in other volunteers to form a team aimed not at collecting funds but at joining forces towards a good cause.

“Especially in view of the particular situation prevalent in our country at the time, the central aim of the Presidency was to enhance unity among the people and also to promote a healthy lifestyle,” Abela told the magistrate.

As President he had striven to work ‘with volunteers,’ not compete with them, he said. To the members of the Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina core committee who had shared their time and expertise on his team, some of them among those facing criminal charges, the former President gave his unequivocal backing. “I have nothing but words of praise for these people,” he said.

“Yes obviously there were hiccups along the way, but I always would step in personally to ease tensions among members of the team so that the team progressed, because the important message was not money but that all stakeholders worked together for a good cause,” Abela repeated.

Asked by lawyer Joe Giglio whether the organisation of Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina differed in any manner from that of other charity events such as Rockestra or the August Moon Ball, the former President replied in the negative.

Magistrate Aaron Bugeja interjected, pointing out that various witnesses had made a distinction between MCCF events ‘third party’ events in past sittings, classifying Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina in the latter category.

“In my time there were no such third party events, there was one model throughout. The ultimate responsibility fell to the President even if the event was organized by the MCCF,” Abela replied.

“Paqpaqli ghall-Istrina was definitely a MCCF event. It was a great crowd-puller and it definitely fell under the Presidency,” he repeated.

The former President also touched upon the painstaking attention to detail and tremendous effort which had been used in the organization of the annual car show during his time in office, telling the court how the organising committee had benefited from the expertise of the McLaren racing team during a visit to Malta by Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton in 2012.

That visit had left behind a trove of expertise that was used for the planning of subsequent editions of the show, in particular when racing demonstrations were added to the formerly static car display.

Safety had been a cornerstone of planning the event, he said.

The structuring of the track was made in such a way as to ensure that the cars would be driving at a slow speed when close to the spectators’ area, with the highspeed areas of the track a safe distance away, Abela declared.

In fact there would also be markings on the track itself, indicating where drivers had to slow down and brake. “The whole track was meticulously mapped out. These were fine details which I personally used to make sure were observed,” Abela said.

Crowd control and safety was also planned in detail. Barriers, patrolled by police, kept the public far away from the track. In between the public and the track was a buffer zone, lined with water-filled crash barriers which were tied together for added strength - “a detail learnt from the McLaren booklet,” explained Abela. A member of the organising committee would personally supervise the placing of the barriers and would ensure that they were filled with water.

The event had always been covered by an appropriate insurance policy, issued under qualified expert advice and in line with risk assessment reports which had been discussed with all the relative stakeholders, concluded Abela.

“All these events, with all the benefits, responsibilities and commitment they entailed, were organized by the Presidency,” he added.