Police to file charges over Gozo Channel boatswain's ‘forged' certificate
The police will be charging a person over allegations that a Gozo Channel boatswain was in possession of a forged certificate.
Another person "may be charged in due course", a police spokesman said yesterday.
The police are investigating claims made by ship master Mario Grech that a boatswain had admitted he had not sat for any examinations and did not have the necessary qualifications. Yet, he was in possession of what Capt. Grech suspected to be a forged certificate that carried the signature of the head of the company's human resources department.
Capt. Grech was suspended on full pay a day after he filed a judicial protest on September 24 alleging serious safety shortcomings revolving around the lifesaving equipment, emergency training, the boatswain's lack of qualifications and the presence of the potentially-deadly Legionella bacteria in the water supply of three Gozo ferries.
Gozo Channel vehemently denied the allegations and, in a counter protest, insisted the claims were unfounded. It said Capt. Grech had been chief operating officer until he resigned last December and was therefore responsible for many of the safety measures he had mentioned in his judicial protest.
A few days ago, Gozo Channel CEO Fritz Farrugia resigned, just eight months into his term. Although he did not give a reason for his resignation, he insisted it was not connected with the inquiry ordered by the government into Capt. Grech's allegations.
A spokesman for the Finance Ministry would not say what stage the inquiry had reached and when it was expected to be completed. "The investigation is ongoing and there is nothing to add from our side at this stage," he said.
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Christian Sciberras
Nov 1st 2009, 19:39
Marcel Dingli - So, you're voting on even worse guys?
With the current political parties, anyone winning won't do any difference in governing the country.
Might as well, not vote at all and hope for some real change. (rather then voting for the scrap alternative as we did all these ages).
B Sant
Oct 31st 2009, 22:51
@ P Debattista
balance of power? do we have it now?!!!!!! no resignations- blatant lies and promises!!!!! id rather have a one seat man keeping them at ransom rather in the fake democaracy we are living in now
G.Debono
Oct 31st 2009, 16:35
@P.Debattista
"Single person" ? We are proposing the opposite if anything, more than one person. If a PLAD or PNAD or a PLPN government is in place then their is more accountability. Call it, if you want, being more liable to the electorate.
You probably dont realise that some governments deserve to go down early, some governments dont deserve a full 5 year (let alone 25!).
Didn't the majority rejoice at the short lived Labour government of 96-98 ? Had it not been the foolishness (for him and good for us of course) of the then Prime Minister going to the polls 2 years into government, today Malta would still be out of the EU/Eurozone. We'd probably still be debating on whether CET is better than VAT.
The PNPL will never allow you (through their indoctrination) to think otherwise. They will demonise having AD in parliament because it serves them so. Since once voted in power, they forget you ever existed and go over you like you were just a number.
Pule' Carmel
Oct 31st 2009, 15:00
A worse situation than this is when an educational institution did not plan for the preparation of teachers/lecturers and so could not find enough of qualified teachers/ lecturers and recruited unqualified personnel in the teaching grades and then, gave them short and fast, in house training, to make them into "qualified personnel using a very fast track". I know of some of them who offered more than £200 to someone to help them in writing the final dessertation or theses. Others, paid less to get boat driving licences, and who never drove to win driving licences.
There was also cases when people who were not qualified academically were allowed to sit on academic boards to plan academic courses when all they were qualified for with their hardhand personality and shouting skills, was to manage the building contractors to deliver on time, which was never really achieved either.
This buisness of recruiting unqualified personnel ( for convenience and political peace) in Malta has been going for much too long, hence the consequences in many directions of our society. One hopes that this small island mentality willl oneday be brought inder control. ( I personally do not think it ever will )
Marcel Dingli
Oct 30th 2009, 19:24
Mr Sciberras invalidating my vote will only help get elected those i dont want to see governing. Again it will be Azzjoni Nazzjonali and Lowell who will get my vote. Franco Farrugia have you seem to have had too much wine, been drinking constantly for a week or so? PN is by far more left wing than the PL.
Franco Farrugia
Oct 30th 2009, 16:10
@ Marcel Dingli - Still too early for wine, today. 'Left wing parties'? Where is the PN left wing? Where is the PL left-wing?
J. Borg
Oct 30th 2009, 16:09
@ P.DeBattista if one wishes to avoid a government be rocked by one AD MP then PL & PN need only to form a "Grand Coalition" and govern together Maybe we start having some objective discussions in Parliament and Net/Super1....
L. Tabone
Oct 30th 2009, 15:51
@J. Micallef A bridge?!?! Do you seriously think that proper upkeep and maintenence of such a bridge will take place when our roads are in such a disasterous state?
Christian Sciberras
Oct 30th 2009, 15:41
@J. Micallef - Because if we build a bridge, no one gets paid? @Pippo Cialo - Agreed. That is one huge contribution to incompetences on this island. @Charles Micallef - And/or arrogant replies and silence. I've been through this as well. @Franco Farrugia - And the poor people that have to pass under their responsabilities. @J. Borg, P.Debattista, G.Debono, Marcel Dingli - Choose the 3rd option, don't choose a party. Invalidate your vote. Make sure the political system cries out loud, on it's knees.
R Agius
Oct 30th 2009, 13:13
@Albert Farrugia
You make very wild assertions based on flawed assumptions. When someone is guilty of a criminal act then we must allow for due process to punish that person. If someone is proven to have been negligent in their responsibilities then likewise those they answer to have to take action. In this case, a fraud has taken place, has been uncovered and due process will judge the guilt of the person and mete out the appropriate punishment - if found guilty.
No business is perfect and no one should be held accountable IF they can prove reasonable steps had been taken to guard against that sort of thing happening! By your yardstick we can only have perfectly run organisations with perfect controls. The term reasonable obviously escapes you!
You have decided, as is politically opportune for you, that the Gozo Channel hierarchy is guilty (of what?) and should resign. By the same token any wrongdoing by an employee at say, Super One, should immediately be followed by the mass resignation of the Board of Super One.
Are you living in this world?
P Debattista
Oct 30th 2009, 13:03
@AD supporters
I have no faith in a single person holding the balance of power. Love them or hate them there is a whole party governing right now and I have faith in the common good and honesty of most people. I am, however, very sceptical about a single person. The fact is that everyone has their price and vesting so much power in one individual is not something I am willing to risk. With all due respect to AD candidates - all of whom are honest, law abiding citizens - we even had the leader of the AD falter - and that is human nature.
I trust everyone except human beings....
Marcel Dingli
Oct 30th 2009, 12:46
PLPNAD not much to choose from. Three left wing parties.
G.Debono
Oct 30th 2009, 12:35
@P.Debattista
Although I understand what you mean. You really need to see the other side of the coin as well. What power does a 1 party governments have? What power to push their agenda...etc.... Huge, much bigger than a two party one.
If a duo party government scares you, a solo (crazy) driver should scare you more.
What can I say, try a 3rd party for once, and if you see it does not work that way for you, the next time round do otherwise.
Albert Farrugia
Oct 30th 2009, 11:21
@R Agius
You must be one of the first fruits of the Nationalist mentality that is being sown in Malta: that no-one in authority - not the politicians, nor the high officials of state companies, no-one at all - have to answer on the way they handle their responsibility. If this is the way we are going, that we ACCEPT that those who earn fat salaries do not even need to be made to feel the immense burden they shoulder, and are simply excused because "they cannot know the most intimate detail", then may God help us on this island.
Just a comparison: imagine if the aircraft engineers who service the planes we fly in tell us that they cannot possibly know all the "most intimate details" of the aircraft they service, since they are so complicated!! We are now beginning to accept incompetence. And Malta is set to become a Centre of Excellence in 6 years time! Sure, consider it done.
J. Borg
Oct 30th 2009, 11:12
@ P. DeBattista
Blackmailed by AD?
Having Cabinet "forced" to really follow and implement EU measures aimed at promoting quality of life, control emissions, seriously monitor airquality, tackle transport, enforce environmental standards in food, kick fish farms miles away from the sea-shore, change MEPA into a real Environmental Protection force, have political parties declare the source of every Euro they get........give me this "Dictator" anyday!
And you think that Cabinets have not been (and still are) blackmailed.....
by egoistic minorities (illegal squatters, hunters come to mind), big business who finance the lavish party media (and more)........need say more?
Once we are in the EU - we have ensure that basic democratic standards are now cast in stone.....the problem now is to really implement what is inscribed in our laws, Directives and Regulations........and in this our Cabinets have failed due to the duopoly we have let ourselves in.
So yes - not much to choose from PN and PL.......the real change is getting someone in between to really make them tackle issues seriously and with a long-term perspective....in Malta's real interest for a change!
J. Micallef
Oct 30th 2009, 10:26
I can't understand why we don't build a bridge to connect Malta with Gozo !!!
We will put an end to the high prices that Gozo Channel charges, put an end to the monopoly, and will arrive to Gozo in less than 10 mintes !!!!
Franco Farrugia
Oct 30th 2009, 10:24
@ R Agius - Sir, could it be perhaps because we, Maltese, have a saying: 'Il-huta, minn rasha tinten!'. Could it also be because the whistleblower in question has been vilified by Gozo Channel for having dared to go against the current? And what do you understand by 'victims'? The 'victims' in all these stories is the taxpayer and people of good will. Nobody else!
Adrian Cachia
Oct 30th 2009, 10:17
@P Debattista
I'd rather vote for a 3rd party then for a lesser of the two evils...
Besides check your facts before stating that another seat in parliament would lead to that happening.... How many members of parliament vote blindly in favour of his party??
steve elliott,uk
Oct 30th 2009, 10:11
The moral of this story is "be a whistle blower,save lives,sleep well at night and above all have a clear conscience.
R Agius
Oct 30th 2009, 09:59
Let's assume that this chap committed a fraudulent act. Why do we have to blame the whole hierarchy for someone's misdemeanor? Does anyone honestly believe that a CEO or chairman or whatever knows the intimate details of everything that goes on? Why do we try to make it seem as though the hierarchy was in on the fraud? A fraud is an act of deception - not one of co-operation!
If the hierarchy were party to the fraud then fine - they should be processed by our institutions and everyone is entitled to pour heaps on them. But if they are not then we can only criticize them for not acting when they should have or for not having adequate controls in place!
We have to stop persecuting the victims of such illegal acts! We politicize everything and anything and end up polarizing on even the most innocuous of matters and many commentators in here seem to have nothing better to do than to stoke the fire for political reasons!
Charles Micallef
Oct 30th 2009, 09:58
The constant response that one gets when one raises a complaint with any public owned entity is…… deny - deny - deny, even when one offers them concrete evidence, and this always happens because they do not take their responsibilities as serious as they do with their salaries and remunerations!
P Debattista
Oct 30th 2009, 09:52
@G Debono
I'm sure you mean a third party to control the whole parliament and be in a position to blackmail the larger parties into submitting to its own agenda! Imagine the power vested in that one seat that will hold the balance of power ,,,,
Paul Barrett
Oct 30th 2009, 09:47
Quote "It said Capt. Grech had been chief operating officer until he resigned last December and was therefore responsible for many of the safety measures he had mentioned in his judicial protest."
In which case Captain Grech was in the ideal position to know the intimate details and therefore possibly got fed up banging his head against a brick wall trying to get them sorted out without the backing of the Board.
Pippo Cialo
Oct 30th 2009, 09:41
"...a boatswain had admitted he had not sat for any examinations and did not have the necessary qualifications..."
If this is true, I hope justice will find out the person(s) responsible for that.
Modern developed countries cannot sustain anymore "POLITICAL PATRONAGE". Unfortunately, such phenomenon is still present in most mediterrenean countries.
Paying unskilled people mines the economy, and is extremely unfair to whom possesses those skills and is still unemployed...
G.Debono
Oct 30th 2009, 09:30
The morale of the story?
Do not be a whistleblower - because you will get suspended.
Vote a 3rd party in parliament if in future you would like to reduce such things. We can never completely eliminate, but the more accountability the more we have a chance to reduce such things.
PL-AD
PN-AD
Does not matter whether its PL or PN in government as long as there's a 3rd party to control them
Joe Grima
Oct 30th 2009, 08:59
So is appears that Capt Grech was right on at least one count and his allegations were not all unfounded as stated by the Company. Which other allegations did Capt. Grech make before he was suspended on which he was also right? If his allegations prove to be correct, the entire Gozo Channel Board should be made to resign., if not for anything, for the arrogant and high-handed manner in which they dealt with serious complaints raised by a responsible Captain.