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Arrigo denies allegations of interference, councillor backs claims

A loyal Nationalist councillor has confirmed a claim that Nationalist MP Robert Arrigo insisted on having one of his supporters kept in the employ of the Sliema council in a disagreement that had to be resolved by the party.

Councillor Yves (Bobby) Calì told The Times how he confronted Mr Arrigo after the latter complained about the council’s dismissal of Stephen Buhagiar, the MP’s former driver who had been working as the council’s contracts manager.

Former Sliema mayor Nikki Dimech is currently facing charges for soliciting a bribe from Mr Buhagiar when he was given the job.

During the first hearing in that court case, Police Inspector Angelo Gafà quoted Mr Dimech saying, under police interrogation, that Mr Arrigo asked the council to favour “his people” for jobs and tried to persuade the then mayor not to sack Mr Buhagiar.

Speaking to The Times, Mr Arrigo “categorically denied” Mr Dimech’s allegations, pointing out that the former mayor is facing criminal charges after admitting to the police he solicited a bribe “together with other serious admissions”.

“The allegations made by Mr Dimech in my regard are absolutely fictitious and untrue. Also, I have always believed that any applicant for any job should be competent on his own merits.”

He said that in his role as an elected representative of the people, he always believed he was at the service of his constituents to the best of his abilities with “utmost respect to the rules of law”.

But Mr Calì, who only weeks ago voted with his party to oust Mr Dimech, confirmed that he was annoyed with Mr Arrigo over the Stephen Buttigieg affair and the council took the issue to party level for it to be resolved.

Mr Calì said he was not present when Mr Arrigo and Mr Buhagiar visited Mr Dimech at the council for a meeting at night, as claimed by Mr Dimech during the police interrogation. “Nikki is probably confusing two meetings that took place at around the same time. I happened to meet Robert and Nikki on a different occasion. That’s when the subject about Mr Buhagiar’s dismissal came up and the disagreement between Robert and me escalated.”

Eventually, the matter was taken to party level where it was found that the council’s motion to terminate Mr Buhagiar’s post was valid.

Mr Calì said the council was prepared to assist MPs who forwarded genuine complaints from their constituents but when it came to appointing key people, they needed to appoint those most appropriate for the job, “not because they are backed by someone”.

“This is especially so when this is to the detriment of someone better suited for that particular job.”

He said it was “understandable” for MPs to help those most loyal to them to improve their presence within their constituencies “but there’s a limit”, adding that Mr Buhagiar had failed to comply with his contractual obligations.

“From three abstentions to his approval for the job, he ended up with all those present bar one voting against him at the end of his six-month probation stint,” Mr Calì said.

Mr Buhagiar was then dismissed by the council.

One of the several things that irritated some of the councillors about him was that he continued to use Mr Arrigo’s car while he was meant to be working for the council.

“Even I saw him once... It’s not on. It doesn’t look good. Even if there is nothing illegal about it; it annoyed me and I made sure that the message for it not to be repeated was brought to his notice. One wants people working for the council to be as independent and impartial as possible.”

Mr Arrigo spent two full terms as mayor and, later, his wife became mayor as well. He naturally “did all he could” to ensure Mr Dimech, his protégé, was elected, Mr Calì said.

“This is something Mr Arrigo himself admitted to. He organised parties, sent invites and phoned people. His staff even called my mother asking her to give Nikki first preference,” Mr Calì said.

“On one occasion I was pressed to attend one of the ‘parties for Nikki as mayor’. Some prospective councillors were there while others were spared the invitation. That’s Robert’s way of doing things but I don’t have to agree with everything he does.”

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J.Scicluna - Rabat

Sep 28th 2010, 11:44

Speak for yourself...I and many others never stooped that low to "beg" for favours off any politician AND never will!

The only time when I will talk to politicians is to demand my RIGHT if it had been denied me.

s.grima

Sep 27th 2010, 20:05

iva ta, il poplu malti ma jisthoqlux ahjar! meta kien hemm xi hadd li prova jiftahlu ghajnejh ghajru gidib u ma jafx imexi!!!

gcForte

Sep 27th 2010, 19:16

I agree with your interesting comment..........Maybe that is why Dr. Eddie Fenech Adami and Dr. Lawrence Gonzi never gave Mr. Robert Arrigo a Minister`s Office, especially last election when he was elected from two districts.......... Who knows ?

Pat Hobson

Sep 27th 2010, 16:05

I will be the last one to defend Dr. Alfred Sant. But time is proving him right all along. What happened during AS premiership, especially the last months, were not of his own doing, but due to his democratic values. He kept all permanent secretaries, regardless of their political leanings, and what happened? They ill-advised him (not all of them) and sabotaged his government. The opposition, didn't make it easy for him either. And the PN apologists dare to take about the PL opposing everything. All in all, as we all know what happens in the first years of every legislature, the most hard of decisions are taken in the initial years. And here Dr. A. Sant was caught midstream. That's why we can't say that under AS everything was ok, because it wasn't due to the said circumstances. If A. Sant was left for the full term, I'm sure things would have been different. I repeat again, AS is no favourite of mine.

Charles J. Buttigieg

Sep 27th 2010, 16:58

Dr. Sant had what it takes to be a super Prime Minister but he lacked in the departments of communication skills and charisma, two unimportant ingredients to run a country yet the two most important strengths to garner the colleagues’ and mass support to stand on a good power base. The man as a PM was too clinical for his own good.

Charles J. Buttigieg

Sep 27th 2010, 12:48

Adrian,do not forget that the PL was and still is against the participation of political parties in local councils. If the PN also concurs the PL would promptly opt out.

M. Fenech

Sep 27th 2010, 13:56

In my opinion the law about local councils should be changed in order to BAN candidates who run for local council elections, then get elected and then after using their local council as a good platform to gain recognition among costituents, they run for the general election! That's how the system is working at the moment, and some people are privileged and many are not. If they want that local councils work for their respective locality, candidates should not run for general election. We have too many examples of candidates that ended up in parliament, after being in their respectivs local councils. All the mess that some councils are going through at the moment is because of this fact, and that is that their party's interest comes before that of the locality that they represent. And we still have to see more of these latest soap operas, in localities that until now have never been mentioned!! Just wait and see!!

J Farrugia

Sep 27th 2010, 12:03

Have you ever had ANY pressures from Labour diehards during your 16 year reign at airmalta? Have you never notices the trend of Labour supporters who were employed with Airmalta during Wistin's time in Government?

Charles J. Buttigieg

Sep 27th 2010, 12:43


It was 30 years at Air Malta not 16. During Wistin’s time there were more promotions given to PN supporters than to Labourites. Check it out for yourself. During that time Air Malta had a Chairman, a Managing Director and other Board Directors that were all Nazzjonalisti. The Majority of the Area Managers were also Nazzjonalisti. These were people coming from Malta Airlines with years of experience behind them. Air Malta was successful then because we practiced meritocracy, look at the state it’s in now.

Paul Borg

Sep 27th 2010, 23:58


Dempster, don't be happy too soon! Don't you realise that this result suits Gonzi perfectly, disgracing his rival in the Sliema camp?

Niklaus Grech

Sep 27th 2010, 10:43

Oh, may your words come true. We would elect your PL and Joseph Muscat will lower the water and electricity bill, fuels, introduce again subsidies, etc. Everything will become cheap and affordable again!

Incidentaly many forget that the PL, with his original vision of wanting us out of the EU, would have made Malta loose many funds (and hence no restoration works, roads, scholarships, etc, etc.). By the way, whenever there was the Labour in goverment there was always "STAGNAR" U "INCERTEZZA." At least from this corrupt and inefficient governemt we are benefitting from something.

Marija Falzon

Sep 27th 2010, 11:41

Niklaus, If you're happy with this mediocre situation, its your problem. But most of the people I know, who come from very different walks of life, aren't.

lgalea

Sep 27th 2010, 11:55

Niklaus Grech in your wisdom you forget that what we get from the eu is something that we have already sent it. E.g. €182,192 EVERY DAY, all the customs duties and levies while we pay the customs officers to collect them, part of VAT, the loss of the Italian protocol, the loss of the interests on our reserves that had to be transferred to the ECB which the eu is now getting, the millions which we are paying for government employees to constantly go to Brussels and other countries on eu business, the more than €70 MILLION EVERY YEAR which "Open Europe" http://www.openeurope.org.uk/ estimates that we are incurring to implement eu laws, the invasion of foreign workers and illegal immigrants which are costing us an arm and a leg, etc etc

Charles Sammut

Sep 27th 2010, 14:28

@ Igalea
Then the EU gives us some of our money back and dictates what we do with it and when or they will take it back. Talk about masochists. We're gluttons for punishment.

lgalea

Sep 27th 2010, 15:26

Charles Sammut you are perfectly correct

jbusuttil

Sep 27th 2010, 10:53

When we get to know what happened in the Fgura Local council we can start taking the PL and comments like yours seriously.

mark vella

Sep 27th 2010, 10:30

do you already have someone in mind to be prime minister?

Mark Galea

Sep 27th 2010, 10:42

@Charles Sammut
Good one - the only problem is which other leader? The remaining ones I know of are the (in)famous KMB, Alfred Sant, and Joe, the boy who plays with toys (today he should have been at school). The only able PL leader was the current President ... so, my dear Charles, although PL might win an election in the future, there is no able captain on the helm ... possibly another 96?

lgalea

Sep 27th 2010, 11:49

Mark Galea the (in)famous ones are those who led the PN throughout its existence. Remember Terinu, the exiled leaders because of their support for the Italian Fascists, the one who was given independence because the British Government wanted to shed its responsibility towards Malta while keeping what it previously had in military terns, the one who is responsible for the violence in the 70's and 80's and who again sold us to the eu colonialist foreigners and appointed himself pPresident, and the present one whose pair of strong hands are only there to be used against the Maltese citizens but not against foreigners, illegal immigrants and the inner circle friends and friends of friends?

Mark Galea

Sep 27th 2010, 12:40

@lgalea
Dear Mr Galea. Welcome back from your summer holiday, since we had little contribution from you this summer. Mr Galea, we are looking in the future, and we need able rulers ... which are quite rare these days ... they used to be a lot of them (dictators, I mean) in the prehistory of democratic malta (pre 1987), but now, since we are a democracy, they are difficult to find - obviously aspiring ones we have, but they must be trained and leave their toys at home and grow up.

C.Camilleri

Sep 27th 2010, 12:51

@ Mark Galea

" Joe, the boy who plays with toys! " Not bad coming from a supporter of a political party who says he believes in youths. No wonder the PN voted against that 18 years old can vote. It is also worth reminding what the "boy" achieved in the MEP elections both as a candidate and as a party leader.

Mark Galea

Sep 27th 2010, 13:52

@C.Camilleri
My friend, if I were to bet money, I would bet Joe will become PM, even though I would vote against him. However, he is inexperienced and (except for a few) surrounded by a pre-1987 mentality of doing things which was reflected in the 96-98 period. My friend, I am not on the PN gravy train, but can easily see what will happen in 2013 and later. PL will win, and then all the PL locusts will swarm to eat up what they have not in the last 23 years ... DO you think that Joe will be able to contain them, or his MP's, especially if he will have a 1 seat majority?

gcForte

Sep 27th 2010, 14:12

@ C.Camilleri ............The BOY who had the guts to stand up by himself defending the Maltese language against the Giants of the E.U.

Charles Sammut

Sep 27th 2010, 14:24

Yes, who? That is the question. But it is now getting to the point where anything is better than this lot. Sometimes an amputation should not be looked upon, as losing a limb, but stopping the gangrene spreading. Better a wooden leg than a rotten one.

lgalea

Sep 27th 2010, 15:29

Mark Galea we are now in a democracy? You are wrong Mark Galea. We are now (after 1987 apart from 1996-1998) living in a The Mocracy. They both sound the same but they are a totally different kettle of fish.

C.Camilleri

Sep 27th 2010, 19:56

@ Mark Galea Are you some kind of modern day prophet? You already know what is going to happen with certainty in the years to come. And by the way thank you for confirming that there is a PN gravy train which is infested with PN locusts eating what's left before the next election. As for the one seat majority, Dr,Gonzi showed Joe what he should do, Appoint every elected member as minister, junior minister assistant minister all with a good salary to keep their mouth shut. Just read what John Dalli had to say on the present administration yesterday. @ Forte You misunderstood my comments. Just read again my reply to Mr.Galea.

Mark Galea

Sep 28th 2010, 09:39

@lGalea
I really admire your ability to give different meaning to words. However, it takes much more than words to govern and win elections, as 2008 has clearly shown.

joh muscat

Sep 27th 2010, 10:39

The spell is self inflicted, especially by one who has par idejn sodi. It began with John Dalli and continued ad nauseum. Terinu's times are re-appearing!!

Joseph Busuttil

Sep 27th 2010, 11:41

As reported in other media Gonzi 'admires' Said’s decision to resign, 'in line with PN's motto'

Are you going to apply this "PN's motto" to Arrifo Gonzi?

gcForte

Sep 27th 2010, 13:40

@ Joseph Busutill..............And now Dr. Paul Borg Olivier. The General Secretary of the P.N. have a conflict with the VAT department. And he is to visit the law courts next month .Mela kullhadd tilef il boxxla jew.

Charles J. Buttigieg

Sep 27th 2010, 10:43

Grab what you can while you can.

Amanda Catania

Sep 27th 2010, 11:38

Charles J. Buttigieg applies perfectly to those who have occupied the Pieta boathouse which is public property and turned it into a restaurant for private profit and have also had a nearby area turned into a parking area.

Charles J. Buttigieg

Sep 27th 2010, 10:22

Where you as apologetic prior to 1987?

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