Sliema mayor's allegation that he was made to favour Green MT defamatory - GRTU

Green MT, the recyclable waste company run by the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, GRTU, said this evening it had not required the assistance of anyone with political influence to draw up a contract with the Sliema council.

In a statement, the GRTU said Green MT offered a package of services and it had no doubt that councils that were really free were capable to decide whether its services were the best.

In this competition context, it said, it had managed to reach contractual arrangements with 41 councils and it was now responsible for the collection of more than 70 per cent packaging waste.

GRTU’s statement follows a claim by Sliema mayor Nikki Dimech that he was pressured to sign a €1.2 million contract with Green MT just minutes before the council voted on the matter.

The council is being investigated over payments or financial commitments it entered into for the collection of separated waste, which may be irregular.

The GRTU said that Mr Dimech’s statement was news for it and GRTU’s and Green MT’s official believed the allegation was made up.

It said that such an insinuation was not acceptable and defamatory, especially in relation to the “spectacular” sum of €1.2 million which Mr Dimech had given the investigating officials.

The GRTU said that while Green MT was technically responsibly for paying the waste collection contractor, the problem created by the Sliema mayor was that he had not signed the contract with the company.

It said that once this problem was solved, it would quickly give Sliema the services it was being denied and make sure that the council would not suffer any additional payments to the contractor.