Nationalist Party general secretary Chris Said yesterday admitted he and party leader Simon Busuttil had met a Gozitan whistleblower over money he claimed was owed for works carried out for the Għarb council.
Dr Said’s revelation – which came almost three weeks after the case first surfaced – coincided with his claim that the practice of free construction works for Gozitan constituents was still taking place.
He, therefore, called on the police to extend their investigation beyond the March 2013 general election.
The police are currently investigating claims by a number of whistleblowers claiming Gozitan constituents were approached by Anthony Debono, husband of former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono, offering publicly-owned construction material for free. The Debonos have vehemently denied the claims.
Reacting to the news of meetings between the whistleblower and Dr Busuttil and Dr Said, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat called on the opposition to pass on any information it may have to the police.
He said it was “serious” that they had met the whistleblower who told them what was happening in Gozo and they did not say anything. He questioned when the meetings had taken place and why they had not gone to the Police Commissioner.
The practice being investigated is still rampant
“Did Dr Busuttil keep the case under wraps because he was afraid of what else might be uncovered?” he asked.
Earlier, Dr Said explained that the person being mentioned as the whistleblower had been in contact with him on payments that were still due for work he carried out for the council. Among these, he mentioned a five-a-side football pitch, a football pitch in Għarb and a pedestal for a statue.
Dr Said, a Gozitan MP, said he had spoken to mayor David Apap who said the payments were due from the Gozo ministry as the work was public. He said he relayed this back to the contractor – whom he refused to name – and even urged him to get legal advice on how to recoup money owed.
He said the whistleblower had also approached Gozo Minister Anton Refalo more than a year ago over the pending payments.
Dr Said also lambasted the government for spinning the matter for “political mileage”.
“This investigation and this case involving the husband of former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono is being used for political mileage. To prove this is not the case, I challenge the Prime Minister to extend the investigation to also cover the two years since the election.”
Addressing a press conference, Dr Said claimed that the practice being investigated was still rampant. “Is it true that public material and civil servants were used for private works? Is it true that a new restaurant in Marsalforn was built with public materials?”
When asked whether he had concrete evidence about what he was alleging, Dr Said stressed that his job, as a politician, was to convey the people’s message of concern and this is what people in Gozo were talking about.
“I am not an investigator and neither am I a policeman. I will leave it up to the police to investigate. This is why I am challenging the Prime Minister to extend the investigation beyond March 2013,” he said.
Asked whether he knew what was going on in Gozo, Dr Said he did not have the faintest clue. He also denied that his relatives were involved in the matter.
“My relatives have been interviewed by the police and denied everything being said. They are also disgusted at the way the police treated them but I will amplify this at a later stage,” he said.