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Matthew Vella
Over Lm78,000 in services unaccounted by VAT receipts, the hire of a car expressly for the Nationalist mayor’s private use, and a case in which architect Robert Sant – a senior partner in Transport Minister Jesmond Mugliett’s architect’s firm – allegedly certified works without his authentic signature or rubber stamp, are the order of the day for St Paul’s Bay council, riddled with financial mismanagement.
These serious financial short-coming have been revealed at St Paul’s Bay local council by an auditors’ report compiled by private audit firm MGI Malta on behalf of the National Audit Office – revelations which have left Mayor Paul Bugeja irate at the fact the auditors have not yet met with the council. The firm was appointed by the NAO to carry out an audit of the council’s financial statements and guide the locality into getting its practices in line after so many monies went unaccounted for.
MaltaToday has a copy of the internal audit report.
It is a situation dubbed “serious” by deputy mayor John Bray, also a PN councillor, who is aware of fragments of the report but has not yet read the entire document. “I will need to examine the whole report before coming to any conclusions,” he said.
It is clear however that matters are about to reach boiling point. Whilst mayor Bugeja claims he is not aware of a motion to depose him from mayor, a sign of tense relations within the Nationalist-led council, he shrugs any attempt to snatch away power from him: “This is really news for me. I mean it is not exactly like I am earning my livelihood here.”
But deputy mayor Bray is unhesitating about ascribing fault to Bugeja, saying it is the mayor who makes sole use of a hired car, supposedly for the council’s day-to-day operations, which MGI auditors said breaches financial and fringe benefit regulations.
MGI said the car was in fact being hired on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. At an annual cost of Lm2,700, “during these days, the vehicle is not parked near the council offices,” the auditors state, finding the council in breach of regulations which preclude councillors from making private use of council assets.
Bugeja is furious about the report, pointing out MGI Malta had been unsuccessful at winning the tender to be the council’s accountants. “They have got it all wrong. These are lies. They have not yet even met me to discuss the report. The car is being used for work – if I have to go to Bugibba on council affairs it is work. Even you are calling me on Saturday afternoon to ask me about a council-related affair. This is work too.”
The mayor makes no comment about the seriousness of the report, saying he prefers to meet MGI before issuing an official reaction by the council as a whole.
Over Lm78,000 in services supplied to the council were not covered by VAT fiscal receipts – most of them related to road maintenance and resurfacing from Catbros Limited, Brian Vella, and Road Servicing Limited. Even the president of the Chamber of Advocates – Robert Mangion – is listed as one of the service providers who did not present a VAT receipt for the Lm2,377 he charged for his services.
Another serious offence appears to be contract work in which architect Robert Sant, Minister Jesmond Mugliett’s professional partner, certified the works without his authentic signature or rubber stamp, which the auditors said was important for the council to know it is paying what it has been provided with.
Mayor Paul Bugeja is aware of the matter, and says architect Sant has been offering his services to the council for the past eight years, “long before I became mayor. I will speak to him about it as soon as the matter is discussed further.”
The rest of the report delivers an entire saga of financial mismanagement: non-existent contracts for the provision of street cleaning, skips, water supplies, refuse collection and computer repairs together totalling Lm65,000; no authentic documentation and invoices covering donations to local schools, reimbursements to councillors, and services from suppliers, and other accounting discrepancies.
Deputy mayor John Bray is still waiting for Bugeja to specify a date for the council to discuss the matter. “I want to see all agreements relative to the expenses, including the car hire. So far we have no date set for discussion.” |
