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I write on behalf of Mr Arthur Bajada of 16, Artmar Cottage, Church Street, Xewkija Gozo, with reference to the article entitled “Council unable to take stand on Ta’ Cenc because of secretary” authored by James Debono in the issue of MaltaToday of Sunday, 8 January 2006.
My client has hitherto refrained from answering the various libellous statements which your newspaper seems intent on churning out from time to time, because as Council Secretary he feels obliged not to enter into polemics, not even if he is personally involved. But enough is enough.
By letter dated 28 November 2005, and notified to the Sannat Local Council on the 1 December 2005, MEPA invited the Council to send its comments until the 6 January 2006 regarding the proposed development at Ta’ Cenc.
The last three meetings of the Sannat Local Council were appointed for the 16 December 2005, for the 26 December 2005, and the 6 January 2006. The Council could not meet on the first two dates because my client was sick, as is evidenced by various medical certificates. On those occasions he suffered from hypertension due to the ongoing crusade spearheaded by the Malta Labour Party mayor, to have my client removed from his post as Secretary of the Council for improper purposes and on the basis of irrelevant considerations. The mayor even attempted to impugn a legally held meeting of the Council during which the renewal of the Secretary’s contract of employment was approved.
The report in your newspaper to the effect that during the meeting of the 16 December, the secretary headed for the door informing the mayor that he was sick is incorrect. My client merely headed for his offices adjoining the Council room because he was not feeling well. After a couple of minutes the mayor followed him and told him that if he was feeling sick he should go home.
The motion at the council meeting of December 16, regarding the secretary’s contract which your article states that my client refused to accept was indeed later confirmed to be illegal by the Director of Local Government, because it was not on the agenda.
The Council then met regularly on the third date, that is, two days after the meeting for the Sannat residents during which your article quotes mayor Carmel Camilleri as stating that the council had not been able to organise that meeting due to its internal paralysis which from the content of the rest of the article he attributed to my client. This is simply not true. The Ta’ Cenc issue was never put on the agenda by the mayor of the Sannat Local Council, in spite of the fact that the Council was served with a copy of the Environmental Impact Statement on the 25 November 2005. The mayor instructed my client by e-mail to send the same agenda as that for the previous two meetings which had not been held, and which had not included the Ta’ Cenc issue on the agenda. In the same e-mail, the mayor also stated that the Council could not send its comments to MEPA, neither in favour nor against, because it had not been discussed in the previous (cancelled) meetings. The email was sent on the 3 January 2006 at 5.30pm, that is, on the eve of the day when the meeting for the Sannat residents was held. On the 2 January MEPA extended the deadline for comments on the EIS till the 20 January 2006.
It is therefore crystal clear that at least until the residents’ meeting was held, the mayor never put the Ta’ Cenc issue on the agenda of any meeting, whether held or not, and also that he chose to use my client as a scapegoat so as to dodge his responsibilities. Mr Bajada has instructed me to initiate proceedings against the mayor of Sannat for defamation.
Dr Grazio Mercieca
Victoria, Gozo
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