San Ġwann mayor requests inquiry into claims by councillors

The mayor of San Ġwann and his deputy yesterday requested the Local Government Director to investigate claims made by fellow councillors, some of them within their own party, on the way the council is operating.

In their letter to director Martin Bugelli, a copy of which was seen by The Times, mayor Joseph Agius and deputy mayor Etienne Bonello Dupuis requested an inquiry “so as to put residents’ minds at rest that the claims are unfounded”.

The letter was sent the day after a council meeting was suspended abruptly soon after councillors made claims about the council and the executive secretary.

When contacted, Mr Bugelli confirmed he had received the letter and that he met Mr Agius and Dr Bonello Dupuis yesterday. He said the department had not received any reports on the council and neither had its monitoring unit flagged any possible wrongdoing.

He said the executive secretary had asked for a meeting with him prior to the letter and since this would be held soon, he preferred to wait before commenting further or replying to the letter officially.

Tuesday’s meeting at the Nationalist Party-led council started at 5.30 p.m. and was chaired by the deputy mayor since the mayor arrived late. Sources said councillors, including those elected on behalf of the PN, complained about the way the council was operating.

This prompted Mr Agius and Dr Bonello Dupuis to suspend the meeting until they discussed how best to tackle the claims. Following a brief suspension, Dr Bonello Dupuis curtly informed the councillors the meeting had ended. No date was given for the next session.

Questions sent to Mr Agius remained unanswered by the time of going to print while attempts to contact Dr Bonello Dupuis were unsuccessful.

The San Ġwann council is yet another PN-led council facing internal problems after those encountered by the Sliema council.

Here, a rift developed over the past few weeks between some PN councillors and the mayor over a controversial tender for fairy lights that is under scrutiny.

The rift caused consternation in PN circles because it risked leading to the council being dissolved.

The matter, which revolves around the extension of a tender way beyond the amount the council could legally authorise without issuing another call for tenders, is being investigated by the government’s Internal Audit Department.