Alignment flaw let PM down on euro night
It was an alignment problem that caused the ATM to twice fail to dispense euro notes to the Prime Minister during the official changeover celebration on New Year's Eve at the Valletta Waterfront.
Bank of Valletta explained yesterday that the money dispenser lost its alignment due to movement caused when large crowds surrounded the machine to witness the historic moment.
So neither Kate Gonzi nor the country's financial situation had to do with it!
Reporting the embarrassing incident yesterday - the item was written on New Year's Day when the bank had not yet explained what had happened - The Times said the joke was that the Prime Minister's wife had used the card before and exceeded the limit for the day or that Dr Gonzi had used Malta's debit card, which was overdrawn.
For the record, Dr Gonzi still managed to withdraw €100 (Lm42.93) on the night by using the fixed ATM at the BOV's Valletta Waterfront branch, two metres away from where the mobile machine stood.
Bank of Valletta said yesterday it deeply regretted any embarrassment the incident might have caused to the Prime Minister.
The faulty mobile ATM had been extensively tested and functioned properly even up to a few minutes before Dr Gonzi was due to use it, BOV said.
5 Comments
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Antoine Attard
Jan 5th 2008, 18:21
If this is a problem the country is facing, we really live in a paradise.
Graham Crocker
Jan 5th 2008, 17:24
Yes Mr Micallef you are correct, the BOV technicians should have gotten a group of people to jump around their ATM to test the alignment. Concrete Floors? They don't oscillate, only wood can oscillate!
Joseph Micallef
Jan 4th 2008, 00:07
I am not sure if Mr Magro's comment is sarcastic or not. But I do believe that the explanation given by BOV is puerile. I don't believe that any amount of foot stamping can create such a tremor as to cause a heavy ATM machine to stop working! If the floor were made of wooden planks then it could have been plausable knowing the bouncing qualities of wood but not a concrete floor!
And I would add, if the floor was so bouncy then BOV technicians should have thought of the eventuality of many people crowding around the Prime Minister et al and created something fool proof for the occasion!
Oliver Magro
Jan 3rd 2008, 20:54
Surely BOV could not have expected the machine to be "surrounded" by anyone other than the Prime Minister, Mrs Gonzi and the Governor. No amount of testing could have anticipated the stampede caused by the "large crowds".
Joseph Micallef
Jan 3rd 2008, 18:12
I said it yesterday and repeating it today - what an earthquake the crowd must have made! Is the floor made of wooden planks maybe?