Former Birkirkara mayor claims ‘political revenge’ as board finds financial shortcomings

Former Birkirkara mayor Michael Fenech Adami yesterday claimed that he is the victim of a political vendetta after a report by the Local Governance Board found serious irregularities on his part with regard to contracts issued by the previous local council.

The board was asked by the Director for Local Government to investigate several allegations of misconduct. It found that Mr Fenech Adami had contracted a company, V&C Contractors, to carry out roadworks without there having been a formal decision by the council and before any tender adjudication process.

Interviewed by the board, Mr Fenech Adami said there had been an informal council decision and that the work was, in any event, covered by a public private partnership.

But the board said it was clear from its investigation that there had been no informal decision and no adjudication process. It said that this was a clear example of bad governance in which people take decisions on their own and without approval. Mayors have no right to make such arrangements without the approval of the rest of the council, the board said.

The board also found that Birkirkara local council had paid around €30,000 on vehicle rental and €54,000 to rent photocopiers between 2010 and 2013 when no call had been issued for the provision of such services. In addition, the amounts exceeded the permitted maximum that can be spent by direct order. “The board declares that there was a breach of the established financial procedures by former mayor Michael Fenech Adami and former executive secretary Arthur Pizzuto.”

Another allegation the board considered was the purchase of 10 computer desks for a cost of €10,900, without a public call for tender. The council had bought the desks to provide computer courses. Mr Fenech Adami said the desks were meant to be paid for from the money generated from the courses and, in fact, half the amount had already been paid. But the board found that there was no paperwork for the purchase of the desks and course fees.

The desks, the board said, were purchased by Mr Fenech Adami without approval and behind the Executive Secretary’s back.

The Local Governance Board also found that the council had exceeded the direct order limit when it purchased ten recycling bins at a cost of €2,809. This transaction had also lacked the approval of the council and the executive secretary. Once again, good governance procedures had not been observed, the board said.

The last issue the board examined was an agreement Mr Fenech Adami had made for an additional skip-emptying service, costing an additional €3,000 a month. Mr Fenech Adami said this was not a new tender but rather a variation of the existing tender and that the agreement had been verbal.

The board found that the cost of the tender varied by more than 30 per cent and in cases such as this, a new tender should have been issued.

The Local Governance Board condemned the serious shortcomings in the management of public funds in the most categorical way. It recommended to the Director of Local Government to take all necessary steps against the former mayor and executive secretary.

The board is chaired by Dr Noel Bartolo and has Ronnie Pellegrini (Minister Helena Dalli’s Chief of Staff), Dr Arthur Ellul and Jonathan Mizzi members.

‘Political revenge’

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In a statement, Michael Fenech Adami accused the board of taking political revenge. “Yesterday I received a report from the Local Governance Board, as appointed by the Labour Govern- ment, after a request by the incumbent mayor, Joanne Debono Grech. This report is full of untruths, half-truths and false accusations. It is clear that the board was motivated by political considerations, not the facts at hand.”

Mr Fenech Adami said he had testified and given all the information requested – facts that could not be contradicted. He said he had presented several documents that confirmed his version of events and the board had found nothing irregular and had even commented that the whole investigation was a “waste of time.

“This was also confirmed by the fact that the person who requested the investigation – Joanne Debono Grech – had voted in favour of every decision I took as mayor.”

Mr Fenech Adami said this was nothing but a ‘political vendetta’ on the part of the Labour government and mayor Debono Grech. He accused his predecessor of putting his work under a bad light to cover up her own failures at the helm of the council.

“Birkirkara residents deserve better than this,” he said, pledging that he would continue to work for the benefit of the locality.

We do not accept Pellegrini report says PN

In its reaction, the PN said it would not believe or accept a report drawn up by a board in which Ronnie Pellegrini was involved. It said that Mr Pellegrini, who not only believed in but also instigated discrimination, had gone from condoning discrimination to actually putting it into practice when he was part of the four-man team that had turned the truth upside down.

The PN said that a few days ago Ronnie Pellegrini – who is Chief of Staff to the ‘Equality Minister’ and had been the righthand man of former Labour Minister Lorry Sant – declared himself in favour of political discrimination.

“With his actions now, Pellegrini is showing how much he believes in discrimination by using his role as a member of the Local Governance Board to twist the facts in order to serve Mayor Joanne Debono Grech.”

Busuttil is Fenech Adami’s hostage PL

In a statement this afternoon, the PL said PN Leader Simon Busuttil was intent on defending the former mayor, who is the brother of PN Deputy Leader Beppe Fenech Adami and a party employee.

The fact that Michael Fenech Adami is the PN Deputy Leader’s brother is the reason he was being defended by the party leader, the PL said. “Busuttil is being held hostage by Fenech Adami in this case,” it said.

The Labour Party said, in the past, the PN had used Local Governance Board reports to attack PL-led councils. Now that it was a former PN mayor in the cross-fire, it was using a different yardstick. The PN should also say whether or not it had faith in board chairman Noel Bartolo, who was respected by everyone, the PL said.