Busuttil learnt of whistleblower’s email sent to Said ‘on Friday’ – report

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil says email was brought to his attention on Friday following 'the publication of the name of the contractor'

PN leader Simon Busuttil
PN leader Simon Busuttil

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil reportedly only learned of an email a Gozitan constructor-turned-whistleblower sent to the PN secretary general, last Friday.

“The e-mail published today [yesterday] was brought to my attention two days ago [Friday] after Dr Said checked his mailbox following the publication of the name of the contractor [who is making the allegations],” Busuttil was quoted by The Times as saying.

Busuttil was yesterday contacted by The Times of Malta following the publication of an email by MaltaToday. The whistleblower’s name was published for the first time yesterday by MaltaToday.

On Saturday morning, PN secretary general Chris Said held a press conference during which he confirmed having met and corresponded with the whistleblower. Said said the whistleblower had referred him to works carried out at Gharb. After contacting mayor David Apap, Said said it resulted that the works were funded by the Ministry for Gozo and any pending payments should be issued by the ministry.

"There wasn't much I could do when the mayor said the works were being paid for by the ministry. I spoke to the whistleblower and suggested that he seeks legal advice to recover his money," Said added.

Following Said’s press conference, an email reached MaltaToday listing some of what the whistleblower called “works for votes”, which he carried out before the election and for which he has not been paid.

Read more: REVEALED: Whistleblower’s detailed email to Said about ‘work for votes’

The email by the whistleblower dated 20 May, 2014 and sent to Chris Said includes works carried out on a reservoir in Nadur, a cellar in Victoria, cement works for an individual in Gharb, a road in Fontana carried out on the day of the local election, and a private car park.

The Nationalist Party is being accused by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of having kept mum on the allegations made. On its part, the Nationalist opposition is accusing the government of using the case to gain political mileage amid the upcoming local council elections. It also wants the police to extend its investigation to beyond 2013 and claimed that Gozitan Minister Anton Refalo had long been aware of the case.

In today’s edition, The Times of Malta reported that Busuttil was “unfazed” by the fresh information that emerged from the e-mail. He insisted Said had already given an explanation about the matter during Saturday’s press conference.

The newspaper said that Busuttil made no reference to the “works for votes” scam mentioned in the e-mail and would not answer the question whether Said’s position was tenable after the published e-mail showed the PN general secretary was aware of the public-funds-for-private- work scheme.

“I await the conclusions of the police investigations and will take the necessary steps on that basis. The sooner the police conclude their investigations the better,” Busuttil said.