Motion against deputy mayor will not be moved
The motion aimed at preventing Sliema councillor Cyrus Engerer from becoming deputy mayor, signed by a majority of Sliema councillors, has hit a wall.
“The motion was acknowledged... but it cannot be tabled for discussion because the law says Mr Engerer must become deputy mayor since he is next in line in terms of votes,” sources close to the council said, citing a letter received from the director of local councils.
Mr Engerer is expected to be officially appointed as deputy mayor tomorrow during a council meeting.
The post was vacated when Joanna Gonzi became mayor, replacing Nikki Dimech who was ousted by the Nationalist Party councillors after he was charged with bribery.
Six of the 11 councillors had signed the motion last week, proposing to appoint PN councillor Edward Cuschieri, 82, instead of Mr Engerer, 29, who they claimed lacked experience and maturity.
Mr Cuschieri later accepted the PN’s request to retract his signature from the motion.
The motion was originally signed by the three Labour councillors, Mr Cuschieri, Mr Dimech and councillor Sandra Camilleri, who recently resigned from the PN after claiming she was bullied into backing the motion against Mr Dimech.
“They should have waited for Mr Engerer to be appointed and then put forward a motion of no-confidence. As the law stands, they cannot simply propose someone else and say they have no faith in Mr Engerer before he is appointed,” government sources told The Times.
This may bring to an end months of in-fighting within the council which has been at a standstill as internal investigations took place. Meanwhile, Mr Dimech will seek to prove his innocence in court, after he pleaded “definitely” not guilty to charges of soliciting a bribe and reviling a public officer.
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mario borg
Sep 21st 2010, 21:19
Dr Brincat is citing the old text of the law. The revised law states otherwise as indicated by the Director of the Local Government Department. Dr Brincat got this one wrong.
MBorg
Sep 22nd 2010, 12:09
Dr Brincat did not get it wrong. If you read his last post it is very well explained. If you are not satisfied you can also read what Wally Vella Zarb wrote.
Engerer has to be voted in first. I hope the the Director of Local Councils will clarify this situation.
MBorg
Sep 21st 2010, 19:48
Can somebody confirm or otherwise that the Local Council Act does not automatically give the place to Cyrus Engerer just because he got the second highest votes. Who is correct Dr. Joe Brincat , who does not usually get anything wrong ,or D. Borg ?
Dr Joe Brincat
Sep 21st 2010, 20:50
@MBorg. D Borg quotes article 25 as amended in 2009. Article 31 still remains in the Act without any amendment. Article 25 seems to refer to the filling of posts after an election. Article 31 later during the life of the Council. The text is there for all to see. If my interpretation is not correct, then this is typical of local councils. Even the law itself would have inbred contradictions and conflicts. Govt.mt then Ligi u Nfurzar and follow from there ......
Emanuel Farrugia
Sep 21st 2010, 17:03
Il-funzzjoni tal-Kunsilli Lokali ta' Malta jien ninsab cert, illi 'l poplu Malti ma' jafx kif dawn l-imsemmija Kunsilli jahdmu. Id-'Door to Door' li jsir mill-membri, hemm bzonn, illi lir-residenti tal-lokal jaghtuhom tifsira ta' kif il-Kunsill jiffunzjoni, mhux basta niehdu s-siggu mbaghad naghmlu 'l pjaciri lil hbieb tal-hbieb. Fil-Kunsilli Lokali hemm bzonn nies ta' certu moral u dedikazzjoni u veru mhabba lejn il-lokal.
Emanuel Farrugia former Executive Secretary Mtarfa Local Council
Dr Joe Brincat
Sep 21st 2010, 16:02
I could not have been bothered by this news item. But someone called me in to reproduce the law.
Chapter 363 Article 31(2) : On a vacancy in the office of Deputy Mayor an election
shall be held from among the councillors at the first meeting of the Council to be held after the vacancy, and the Mayor shall also cast a vote.
A.E. Camilleri
Sep 21st 2010, 20:04
Thank you Dr. Brincat. Now there we have it, very clear. Is this the way the Sliema LC issue should be tackled, or is Engerer automatically to take over? The Director of the Local Councils is kindly solicited to clarify 'loud and clear', and for the LC to get down to WORK soonest.
MBorg
Sep 21st 2010, 20:51
@ AE Camilleri
Well said, I knew that what Dr. Brincat wrote was correct The Director of Local Council should clear the situation , explain what must be done. and see that an election from amongst all the councillors takes place on the 22nd. the date of the next council meeting.
Engerer has to be voted in first.
Emanuel Farrugia
Sep 21st 2010, 15:41
Qieghed dejjem jidher, kemm il-Kunsilli Lokali ta' Malta huma hila ta' rizorsi. Il-poplu qieghed jinduna issa, ghax ta' kuljum b'xi storja gdida, imma 'l Kunsill Lokali ta' tas-Sliema, huwa mmexxi min nies minghajr ebda direzzjoni hlief, li jidhru ghal partit politiku. L-ebda sens ta' direzzjoni u specjalment teamwork' lanqas biss jafu x'igifieri. Tidher tajjeb, li hemm qasma kbira bejn il-membri ta' l-istess partit. Ir-residenti ta' tas-Sliema qeghdin jahsbu li qieghed johrog xi gied minn dan il-Kunsill? Vapur b'kaptan wiehed ma' jasalx ahseb u ara b' hafna kaptani.
Emanuel Farrugia former Executive Secretary Mtarfa Local Council
leo attard
Sep 21st 2010, 14:17
law also says '' inniocent until proven guilty'' (in a court of law) ----- but that law didn't apply to Nikki Dimech, did it now?
victor vella
Sep 21st 2010, 13:44
This simply shows that power is a thing that some people fight for tooth and nail, especially people who are failures in everything else.Nikki Dimech should resign from public office and those gnomes who are using the situation for thier ends should follow suit.
MBorg
Sep 21st 2010, 13:16
Some one had quoted the Local Coucils Act which stated that when the post of Deputy Mayor is vacant all council members must vote to electe a new Deputy Mayor from amongst all coucillors in the first meeting held after the vacancy. Is this true ? Some one out there must know this act.
If this is correct the post of Deputy Mayor does not go automatically to Cyrus Engerer, the number of votes has nothing to do with it. Engerer has to be voted in.
As things stand Sliema has a Mayor who, it has been reported , who does not even live in Sliema and is therefor unknown to the locals , and a Deputy Mayor many are not happy with. How can this council function ?
D Borg
Sep 21st 2010, 16:15
You are wrong. Art 25 is very clear. It is the person with second most votes that automatically becomes Vice Mayor. The law had been changed in 2009, over a year ago. The person who had quoted the law, quoted the old act and not the new one.
With regards to Dr. Gonzi, although she is not from Sliema, she does live here in Tower Road, meanwhile, I don't know why you said that many people are not happy with Mr. Engerer since it is the people who voted him with the highest votes. It is also normal to have people with different preferences. If we speak in the way you did, we could have said that most people don't want mist of the mayors and vice mayors because none have 50% or more of the votes.
I think the tram Gonzi - Engerer is a promising one and knowing them, they will work hats for Sliema
wally vella-zarb
Sep 21st 2010, 18:04
@ D Borg
Art 25 refers to the appointment of the ORIGINAL Deputy Mayor following an election. The eventual filling of a vacancy that occurs during the tenure of a council is covered by Art 31(2).
http://www.maltadata.com/loc-act.pdf
or:
http://www.gov.mt/frame.asp?l=1&url=http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/lom.aspx?pageid=27&mode=chrono (click on Cap 363 Local Councils Act). One assumes that, since this is an official Government site, it is kept up to date.
E. Azzopardi
Sep 21st 2010, 12:42
Are we still at it? Can we please get this farce over so that the Council can start concentrating on the locality as a lot of precious time has been lost? How much longer do we have to wait? There are actions which has been waiting for months on end. This is also damaging tourism.
John F. GALEA
Sep 21st 2010, 12:17
The man in the street simply cannot possibly comprehend how people voted in as councillors, who had been there for years, do not even know the basic legislation of Local Councils that they cannot propose someone else as vacancy has to be filled in by next in line in the number of votes obtained.
Such ignorance of people at the helm really confounds the general public. All the waste of time and arguments during said impasse at the expense of time which should have been seriously devoted towards the benefit of Sliema residents.
A.E. Camilleri
Sep 21st 2010, 10:58
If I recall well, a Dr. Joe Brincat, who had contributed regularly on past reports on this subject, had indicated differently vis-a-vis the legality of Engerer's automatic taking over as Deputy Mayor. Dr. Brincat, kindly revive your interpretation please, for all it is worth at this stage. However, the picture is getting clearer by the day in that by getting Dimech out and replaced by Gonzi, Engerer was getting himself appointed Deputy Mayor. Except for the very poor showing of Mr. Cuschieri, who did not have the gutts to stick to his conscience (poor chap! veru miskin!), Engerer appears to have won this battle, the war is apparently not over though! Pity, because Sliema have had enough of this mess, and the LC must start functioning for what they were voted in to do, and for what they are being remunerated nowadays. Sliema needs a STRONG LC, not the weak one it has at present! Can anyone imagine the present team working TOGETHER for a better Sliema? I simply cannot myself. Good luck anyway.
gcForte
Sep 21st 2010, 10:56
Fl`ahhar ser nara din il kummiedja ta tas Sliema tigi fit tmiema.Ghax tghejd kont drajtha.....Jaqaw fadal izjed ?
S. Bonnici
Sep 21st 2010, 11:40
....tghidli qalbi, iva
E Bonello
Sep 21st 2010, 10:12
What is the point of having a vice(deputy)mayor who spends 80% of his time in Brussels?.