PN stands by Gozo candidate Mercieca through ‘ghost NGO’ storm

The Nationalist Party will not be taking any action against its election candidate Ryan Mercieca, who has been accused of benefitting off a system of ghost NGOs at the Gozo Youth Council.

MaltaToday revealed last week that seven of the 11 youth NGOs represented at the Gozo Youth Council, which Mercieca had helped set up in 2014, are either defunct or never existed in the first place. The GYC’s statute requires its affiliate NGOs to register themselves with the Gozo NGO Association, of which Mercieca is secretary general.

Since its formation three years ago, the GYC has benefitted off €126,505 in EU and EEA funds for two separate youth leadership training schemes, both spearheaded by Mercieca, one of which is still ongoing. A breakdown of the costs of the first project, iLead, is still in the dark and was not included in the council’s financial report for 2016.

When asked by MaltaToday whether the PN will take any action against Mercieca over the case, which is being investigated by the NGO Commissioner, a party spokesperson said that the candidate “has categorically rejected the allegations made in his regard”.

“The party feels that Ryan should be given the full opportunity to defend himself and will refrain from prejudging the issue,” he said.

The PN did not respond to a straightforward question on whether Opposition leader Simon Busuttil had been informed of the situation before it was published in MaltaToday last week.

Neither did the party comment on Mercieca’s insistence that he had chosen not to contest this year’s GYC election, a claim that sharply contrasts with emails published by MaltaToday which clearly show that he had been one of the original 11 nominees – nominated by ‘Innovative Youths Gozo’, an allegedly false NGO. Mercieca withdrew his nomination at the eleventh hour after allegations that most of the 11 represented NGOs were false started bubbling to the service and after he himself was targeted by the Labour Party for allegedly threatening the Gozo NGO Association’s treasurer during a separate libel case. ‘Innovative Youths Gozo’ is now being represented on the council by Mercieca’s girlfriend Marie Cefai.

Mercieca’s original nomination to the GYC is crucial to the case as he was in 2016 listed as its contact person for an approved youth leadership training scheme worth €76,505 in EU funds although he was no longer officially involved in the council.

The NGO Commissioner Kenneth Wain is investigating whether the 11 Gozitan NGOs on the council do in fact have statutes and lists of president, secretary and treasurer as required by the GYC statute. In an email seen by MaltaToday, Wain confirmed that he is giving “urgent attention” to the case.

MaltaToday on Friday morning e-mailed the seven allegedly false NGOs, including Mercieca’s ‘Innovative Youths Gozo’, to ask them to forward a copy of their organisation’s statute, its most recent annual report and a list of its president, secretary and treasurer. None of them have complied at the time of writing.