.jpg)
Budget Speech translation awarded to Prime Minister’s son
Finance ministry’s €3,000 direct order to David Gonzi’s translation firm for 2012 budget speech
8 May 2012, 12:00am
Matthew Vella
Matthew Vella
1 min read
The English job... The Prime Minister's son's firm comes in handy for an urgent bit of translation.
It's well known that the finance ministry's budget speech is highly top-secret and that even MPs are not privy to the details of the final speech.
So perhaps it was a natural choice to hand-pick David Gonzi, the prime minister's son, to take care of the translation for the 2012 budget speech.
A list of direct orders published by the finance ministry in reply to a parliamentary question by Labour whip Joe Mizzi revealed that Global Translations Solutions was the recipient of a €3,701 direct order, to translate the 2012 budget speech.
David Gonzi is one of four shareholders in the legal-translation firm.
Direct orders are issued by government ministries for jobs and services that are less than €2,500 according to the urgency attached to the procurement, and restrictions of choice and availability. Orders above €2,500 but not exceeding €6,000 require approval of the finance minister.
Previous translation jobs awarded to GTS from the Office of the Prime Minister included a paltry €59 job, and another €1,400 contract to the Malta Tourism Authority which had issued a call for quotations.
Upon being elected PN leader and prime minister, Lawrence Gonzi had to face criticism over a Lm24,000 (€55,900) job for the translation of EU documents between 2002 and 2004, entrusted to his son's firm.
The information had emerged in a PQ by Labour MP Gavin Gulia to then home affairs minister Tonio Borg, who revealed that Global Translations had received Lm1,279 in 2003 and Lm23,153 for translation services.
Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...
•
This must be the new series of " All in the family " Tiftakruha din is-sensiela li kienet tixxandar fuq it-TV jekk minhix sejjer zball fis-snin 70 ? Rega qed jaghmel sequel taghha dan il-gvern .
•
@ Harloc: I'm sure that if it was like that...it would have made it in the headlines but it was not...in fact the title and the text are in contradiction....
•
artiklu bla sens u banali li juri il-faqar u l-iskop ewlieni ta din il gazzetta.
•
No wonder they don't want to call an election.
•
Orders above €2,500 but not exceeding €6,000 require approval of the finance minister."......... would anyone believe that Tonio would say no.
Nazzareno Pace •
To Zeppi Zammit
For the sake of the argument he could have 97% of the shareholding and the others are just brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law or wives or spouses. This is common practice in Malta.
The PN did it again and we will soon be in the same position of the late 60s. Only a Labour government may bring back this country on it's own feet.
•
Kollox ghal tal-QALBA u tal-KLIKKA Ghalihom u ghal uliedhom. Viva id-Demokrazzija, il-Gustizzja w il-Liberta. Malta gejja qidsa "a family run business"
•
Veru 'its all in the family'! Nahseb li anqas Timbuktu ma jaghmlu hekk!
Luke Camilleri •
HA JKOLLHU X'JAHSEL!
•
Zeppi is right there. So careful with the wording please. You do not want to lose your credibility, which would be a shame.
•
General elections? Than what? And what about the "cejca"?
•
Mr Vella, this is clearly a discriminatory article because you should have also included in your write up all the names of all the others in the list published by the Finance Ministry. The journalist's role is to report facts and not be used to put persons in bad light just because they are relatives to prominent politicians. Shitty journalism!
•
QABEL KIENET "GHALINA U GHAL ULIEDNA" U ISSA DAWWARA "GHALIKHOM U GHAL ULIEDKHOM" MELA HU FADAL GHALINA. HALLINA TRID gonzipn
•
Where in the whole of Europe would direct contracts be given to a company in which the prime minister's son is one of directors ?
•
U min jaf kemm hemm DIRECT ORDERS bl-eluf ta' Euros lil tal-klikka, jew ahjar lil dawk ta' ghajnejhom BLU. Dawn mhux ghalhekk iridu jibqghu jigranfaw mal-porter halli ghad fadal il-qisra tal-hobza jiekluha wkoll ghax inkella jmutu bil-gurh. Hu go fik ja poplu fidil (mhux fir-religjon) u gwejjed li dan il-gvern ghamlek bhal bicca sastkuha tiggebbed u x'hin irid jitilqhek u jarmik ghax ma jkollux bzonnok iktar.
•
Jekk ghandu il papa prim ministru miskin xi trid taghmel.
•
Veru ma nistax nifhem ghalfejn qed tiskantaw --- ma tistghux forsi tobsru li waqt li gonzipn kien qed izur il-kcina tat-tifel (u jsajjarlu xi froga jew isahhanlu l-qassatat fil-microwave jew iqaxxarlu xi kabocca jew xi pitravu) fl-istess hin kien qed jaqra jghajjat it-text tal-budget speech (biex jiccekkja jekk tonio ghamillux xi hmerija ghax dak mohhu fl-arsenal u fil-villa ta' hal balzan) u l-ghaziz david jittraduci biex ma jahlux hin? Lanqas li ma tafux kif jahdem gonzipn u l-klikka tieghu !!!! Mhux zgur ippretendejtu li jaghti din il-bicca xoghol lil franco debono - tghid mhux hekk nibqghu !!!
•
STUPID TITLE SUR VELLA - Was it awarded to his son or to the firm?....to my understanding these are separate legal entities....and to look mre ridiculous you stated that there are another 3 shareholders so he is not the firm - probably just 25% of it - BUT YOU JUST WANTED SOME GLITTERS TO YOUR STORY!!
•
As far as I can remember, even the editor of MaltaToday had been given consultation contracts by direct order by a Nationalist Government. So what's wrong that a company, partly owned by the son of the Prime Minister, was selected for translation services. I know that this comment will never see the light of day because your agenda is well known.
•
I know some one qualified in transalation, degree in maltese, very quick and efficent she would have done this for 30% of the price.
•
U ddur fejn iddur, dejjem l-istess storja. Tal-klikka jiffangaw fl-istess borma u min mhux tal-klikka jmut bil-guh. Sakemm jidhlu principji ta' fairness u trasparenza u l-kapacita' ta' ndividwi/kumpaniji tibda' tinghata prijorita' fuq in-nepotizmu u l-hakk tad-dahar, hadd m'ghandu jiskanta li l-percezzjoni tan-nies f'Malta dejjem tizdied li ghandna gvern korrott u bla skrupli. U r-risposta l-gvern se johodha dalwaqt.
•
" Ta' gewwa, gewwa, u ta' barra barra."
"Aħkem meta ssib għax jiġi r-randan barra minn żmienu."
"make hay, while the sun shines"
