Sliema council probed again

The Sliema local council is being investigated over payments to a company that collects separated waste in the town, a service all other localities are getting for free, The Times has learned.

“Investigations are also being carried out on some payments or financial commitments the Sliema council entered into for the collection of separated waste, which may be irregular,” local government director general Martin Bugelli confirmed yesterday.

He said the department had been alerted to the matter over the past few days.

Mr Bugelli said the council’s executive secretary was instructed to withhold a payment the Sliema council had to make to the company, which also operates the domestic waste collection service in the locality.

Under a national waste collection scheme to retrieve recyclable waste, councils are obliged to register with either Green MT or Greenpak. The companies collect the separated waste from bring-in sites and the service does not come at an expense for the councils.

Green MT and Greenpak collect money from eco-tax refunds due by the government to companies that produce packaging waste and are signed up to the scheme.

“All local councils except Sliema have honoured their obligation to join one of two separated waste collection schemes run by Green MT and Greenpak. The participation of councils in these schemes is not subject to tender because they do not involve payments,” Mr Bugelli explained

In some instances, councils have also negotiated a deal to receive some income from the scheme over and above the savings they make on tipping fees for domestic waste because recyclable material is removed from the waste stream.

The news of fresh investigations in Sliema comes a day after the locality’s mayor, Nikki Dimech, alleged he was pressured to sign a €1.2 million contract with Green MT just minutes before the council voted on the matter.

Mr Bugelli refrained from entering the political fray when asked whether he would be investigating the mayor’s allegations.

“Allegations that political pressure was being applied are not my remit. My concern is solely that of seeing that council decisions and operations are done according to law. At face value, it is apparent there is nothing to investigate as the allocation to Green MT is not by tender,” Mr Bugelli said, insisting he was not aware of any contract to the value of €1.2 million.

The minutes of the Sliema council meeting held on January 20 this year show that councillors of both political parties unanimously agreed on joining the Green MT scheme after both companies made presentations.

“For some reason, the decision of the council has not yet been implemented,” Mr Bugelli said.

Meanwhile, Green MT, a subsidiary company of the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU, yesterday denied it was going to be awarded a €1.2 million contract.

It said the waste collection scheme would have cost the council no money. On the contrary, Green MT would have to fork out €332,000 in payments to waste collection contractors and about €4,000 to the council for a 24-month period.

The company said that, despite the council’s approval in January, the mayor had failed to sign the final contract.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com