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Karl Schembri
Defending himself against the damning report detailing his extravagant spending spree in the three years he headed the now defunct Voice of the Mediterranean , Richard Muscat insisted he was not bound by government regulations when he issued direct orders including an annual Lm36,000 contract to a company employing his son.
Contacted at his office in Ireland where he is Maltese ambassador, Muscat said he had “many objections” to the National Audit Office (NAO) report tabled in parliament last week investigating his running of the Maltese-Libyan shortwave radio station, but was happy that “no impropriety” was blamed on his part.
Yet the NAO did accuse him of “problems and irregularities” in the operations of the radio station, with the major contracts and investments carried out by direct order. His response is that he has been turned into “a scapegoat”.
The report vindicates MaltaToday’s revelations back in 2003, when the station was just about to close three years after Muscat was appointed its managing director.
In fact, the Foreign Ministry which was responsible for financing and overseeing the station’s operations is now seeking Muscat’s and other public officers’ explanations in the wake of the NAO report detailing the massive squandering of public funds.
“The current Permanent Secretary, Ms Cecilia Attard Pirotta, who was appointed after the period in question, has asked the public officers mentioned in the report to submit their statements in reaction to the Auditor’s report,” a spokesman for Foreign Minister Michael Frendo said. “These include the former Permanent Secretary Mr Gaetan Naudi and former VOM Managing Director Mr Richard Muscat.”
It is not just Muscat who is haunted by his extravagance. The VOM board of councillors was totally ineffective according to the auditor, holding rare meetings and kept mostly in the dark about the investments made by Muscat.
The Board of Councillors set up to oversee operations of the radio station “failed to take decisive action against certain practices by the management” according to NAO.
Now the foreign ministry “should re-coup payments which were not directly due or which were adjusted to give higher payment advantages to certain service providers or part time employees” and any VOM assets “still in the hands of third parties should be recalled,” the NAO says in its report.
NAO also suggested that the Permanent Secretary should appoint an administrator for VOM or set up an ad hoc board in conjunction with the Libyan authorities until a decision is taken on the future of the radio station and its assets.
But Muscat says the NAO’s objections to his management were “mostly technical”, insisting that the VOM statute and board of councillors ensured the station’s autonomy, meaning that it was not subject to government procurement regulations.
“Why are they just looking at my three years of operations, when there were 15 years in which the station was in a mess? I wanted the station to be state of the art, it was a shop window for Malta abroad, and not a battered shop as it was when it was still in Floriana,” he said referring to the costly transition to the Birkirkara offices, another source of excessive expenditure lambasted by the auditor’s office when it was clear that the investment from the Libyan side was not forthcoming.
Yet the NAO says major contracts for the expansion and refurbishment were awarded by direct order, and staff were approached directly by Muscat and asked to apply for vacancies within the station.
The Auditor General points out that in its last three years of operations under Muscat, the station was financed from the Maltese foreign affairs ministry’s budget, forcing it to abide by public procurement regulations.
“In the National Audit Office’s opinion such a plea is not justified”, particularly when one of the councillors interviewed said he drew Muscat’s attention that the procedures applicable to all government entities “should invariably be followed”.
“Since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is part of the government’s administration, the same ministry was duty bound to monitor VOM’s activities and ensure that all government financial regulations and procedures were being followed.”
Muscat “continued to refurbish the station and expand its activities on his understanding that the funds from the other party would be forthcoming. However this did not materialise and VOM entered into substantial commitments which could not be sustained from the funds that were allocated by the Maltese party”.
Muscat spent Lm140,000 on internet radio in a contract awarded to his son “solely on mutual trust”. He also spent Lm83,000 on technical equipment and wiring, Lm61,000 on furniture and fittings and Lm56,000 on security, fire fighting and soundproofing equipment and another Lm31,900 on motor vehicles.
One of the most extravagant spends by the radio station was Lm8,278 on fireworks for Project Odyssey, an international activity aimed at promoting peace.
Muscat bought a Lm10,000 vehicle for himself and another one costing Lm15,000 for his deputy, “far in excess of that allowed in similar ranks in the public sector” according to NAO.
No tenders were issued or quotations sought for these purchases, with the selection of contractors made directly by Muscat.
Some of the furniture was even sold to third parties at low prices and according to the foreign ministry other pieces were donated to a voluntary foundation though there are no records documenting this.
Two computer systems and a laptop were taken by Muscat for use in Ireland.
The excessively hefty security and fire fighting systems installed at the VOM studies “are usually only found in high risk areas such as in the server rooms of banks and financial institutions” the NAO reports, noting that the fire risk was after all minimal.
Incredibly, the VOM offices had no locks on the front doors leading to the premises, notwithstanding all the expenditure and “high security” measures taken by Muscat.
“Any person could walk right into the corridors of the radio station although the individual rooms were secure,” NAO said.
Now that the NAO has bulldozed through Muscat’s little empire, it is up to the foreign ministry to decide what to make out of the ruins.
kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt
Links:
www.maltatoday.com.mt/2003/12/21/t1.html
www.maltatoday.com.mt/2003/12/28/t3.html
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