Judge orders firm to pay €21,000 in damages to PM's Office
An interior furnishings company has been ordered to pay €21,000 in damages to the Office of the Prime Minister after a court established they had done a poor job when they installed a timber suspended ceiling.
In 1997, the company, Fithome Ltd, installed the ceiling at a cost of €36,347 (at the time there was a Labour Administration) but (following a change of government) the OPM insisted that it was not installed according to tender specifications because a sub-frame had not been fitted, making it dangerous.
A court-appointed architect, who had examined the works, said that remedial work would cost €6,990. However, a government architect put the cost at €43,864, pointing out that the court architect had not taken into consideration the fact that rooms would have to be cleared and staff relocated in order to do the work.
Mr Justice Gino Camilleri ruled that there were no grounds to annul the contract awarded to Fithome Ltd but he ordered the company to pay €21,000 damages to the OPM.
The judge commented that the sum of €6,990 mentioned in connection with remedial work was too low, especially as prices had gone up since the tender was awarded in the late 1990s.
10 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
l Galea
Nov 1st 2008, 09:08
M J Gatt
Some of hose who made the frame-ups were promoted as soon as the Nationalist Party was returned to power.
Can you deny that they were given the order of the boot by Dr Sant when Labour was returned to power in 1996?
Ever heard of fifth columnists who carry our acts, actions and omissions so that the party they are supposed to be with will appear to be that which it is not?
M J Gatt
Oct 31st 2008, 18:05
@I Galea
"the good things side of the balance is much better for Labour than for the Nationalists"
Does this include the case of Mr A Mifsud and other frame ups and Nationalists who cannot go to a certain village notwithstanding a court's decision (with criminals joining the police) etc. Who has blinkers?
l Galea
Oct 31st 2008, 16:57
Charles Camilleri
It does not hurt Mr Camilleri and I am not conducting any crusade.
Every Government like any other organization does good and less good things and there is no denying that this also happened and happens in Malta.
However, when you weigh the good things with the less good things and compare Labour with Nationalist the good things side of the balance is much better for Labour than for the Nationalists.
And this can be seen if one were to refer to past history without any blinkers of any colour.
l Galea
Oct 31st 2008, 15:45
J Martinelli
As if you do not politicize everything, especially if it has anything to do with the Labour Party!
If the Bugibba project had exceeded somewhat its estimates we got a project ready on time which we were proud of and not something which went over-budget several times over as happened to all projects which your Nationalist Government tried to do.
Shall we refer to Mater Dejn which cost some 10 times its original projected cost apart from other considerations and allegations of corruption brought by none other than a Nationalist ex-high official?
How about Manwel Dimech Bridge Mr Martinelli?
How about the Gozo Ferry Terminals Mr Martinelli.
You cannot name one single project made under the Nationalist Government where it did not greatly exceed the projected costs, suffered from problems and shoddy workmanship and was finished long after the projected time.
If you were here and not simply following the Goebbels propaganda machine of the Nationalist Party then you might start questioning things like we do here in Malta.
Charles Camilleri
Oct 31st 2008, 15:37
@i Galea. Why is it that past events hurt you so much? Remember everything we do in life whether good or bad continues to haunt us till death. So please do not be so touchy about labour past. Even labour MPs including Joseph have admitted labour's past mistakes. Your crusade to excuse labour's past just verges on fanaticalness.
J Martinelli
Oct 31st 2008, 12:03
@ I Galea
As usual you keep trying to hide the past.
Labour governments never had projects which exceeded estimates - Bugibba?
A court decision should not be politicized because if you do, then expect rebuttals.
The Times comment regarding the 1997 administration is simply to inform since that particular administration lasted such a short time that many could have forgotten.
I am sure that you will have more to say about this since your aim was to imply politicize the issue.
l Galea
Oct 31st 2008, 10:59
K Xuereb
I'm not being touchy Mr Xuereb.
It's just that how it's written it implies that the Labour Government was to blame for the bad workmanship and that it was the Nationalist Government that remedied the situation when everyone knows what happened to the various projects under the Nationalist Government.
Does anyone think if that Dr Sant knew about the shoddy work he would have allowed payment?
I certainly agree that under whatever Government, contractors who do shoddy work should not be paid and that they must pay adequate compensation, for after all, it is our taxes that they are getting paid from, whatever political shades one believes in.
K Xuereb
Oct 31st 2008, 10:11
@ I Galea
Why so touchy? From what I've read, the only politicised comment was yours.
If anything this article should show politically biased people of all hues like the previous poster that any government will have to contend with bad workmanship from contractors and as such it can't be blamed for every single thing that occurs.
The government would be open to criticism if no action is taken to remedy such faults.
Manuel Mifsud
Oct 31st 2008, 09:58
This goes to prove how wrong it is to politicise these matters. A contractor can do a bad job irrespective of which party is governing. A government is at fault only if no action is taken against a contractor who doesn't carry out the job accordingly.
l Galea
Oct 31st 2008, 09:49
"(at the time there was a Labour Administration)"
Is there any particular reason for mentioning that there was a Labour Government at the time?
Then what about the hundreds of millions which were spent on projects by the Nationalist Government most of which went way beyond their estimates with many problems and lack of good work showing up even just after the projects were finished, if not even before the projects were completed?