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James Debono
What better twist to Labour leader Alfred Sant’s plot on the alleged “sack of corruption” than a furtive trip to Sicily, the classic cradle of corruption, during which the minister for environment, his close aides and a mysterious third man would have finalised their plans for the extension of development zones?
But Sant seems to have let his literary fantasy run wild as it turns out that the trip was planned by the ministry’s communications officer, following the death of George Pullicino’s mother.
“George’s mother died eight days before the trip. Since she had died on Maundy Thursday, the funeral took place Monday. The trip was intended to help the Minister recover from a difficult moment,” says Ray Bezzina.
Yet contacted on Friday, Opposition leader Alfred Sant stood by what he had said in parliament on Wednesday, where he claimed there were reports among contractors that George Pullicino and his collaborators had travelled briefly to Sicily where the plans of the development zones were finalised.
On Friday, Labour’s e-newspaper maltastar.com pursued the speculation over the so-called “third man” who had accompanied Pullicino, his spokesperson Ray Bezzina and assistant private secretary Lawrence Vassallo.
Asked whether he knew the identity of the third man, Sant replied in the affirmative but he would not reveal his name to MaltaToday.
But it turns out that the mysterious character is nobody else but Sinclair Borg, an employee with the Transport Authority with no connections to the building industry, according to spokesperson Ray Bezzina.
“Sinclair is simply one of my best friends,” says Bezzina, who categorically denied that any plans were finalised during the trip. “As we were talking on the catamaran, the minister told me not to mention anything related to work let alone finalise plans.”
According to the communications coordinator, the four day-trippers had hired a van and proceeded to visit Piazza Armerina, renowned for its famous Roman mosaic. After that they filled their bellies in a restaurant and left for Noto. Pity they had not visited Corleone, a perfect ending to Sant’s thriller on Pullicino’s sack of corruption.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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