The works-for-votes scandal yesterday took a new twist when a court heard that the majority of “private works” allegedly carried out by the Gozo Ministry between 2005 and 2013 took place on public property or fell within the ministry’s remit.
The defence lawyer for the accused, Anthony Debono, delved into each of the 22 cases of works flagged up by a whistleblower and argued that their ultimate beneficiaries were the public and voluntary organisations.
Lawyer Joe Giglio quoted from a 2011 annual report of the ministry that outlined the remit of its Construction and Maintenance Unit, headed at the time by Mr Debono.
The department’s main objective was to render “services in the construction and maintenance areas to the general public, voluntary organisations and other government entities”. It was also responsible for the maintenance of farm access roads, passages and ramps in fields and surrounding areas.
Consequently, Dr Giglio argued that works done, for instance, at a football ground and a 5-a-side pitch in Għarb fell completely within the department’s remit. He pointed out that similar projects had been done on other grounds way back in 1996 by the same entity.
The 59-year-old Mr Debono, husband of former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono, is pleading not guilty to 13 charges involving fraud, misappropriation and the falsification of documents. The police investigated allegations of wrongdoing triggered by a story published in Malta Today on March 8, which was based on the claims of a contractor who a few weeks later was granted protection under the Whistleblower Act.
Joseph Cauchi, nicknamed Is-Sansun, claimed that Mr Debono, as the person in charge of the Construction and Maintenance Unit, was the mastermind of a scheme through which works were carried out for his wife’s constituents from public funds.
He said he had not been paid for some of these works, whereas in the rest of the cases he was remunerated through false invoices allegedly issued by Mr Debono.
Basing himself on the statements given by the whistleblower, Inspector Ian Abdilla, prosecuting, last week testified that the total value of these works spread across 22 different locations amounted to €50,000. However, following the last general election, the accused had made two payments of €10,000 each leaving an outstanding balance of about €30,000, the prosecution said.
Yesterday, the defence repeatedly questioned the prosecution over the basis on which it had issued charges of abuse of public funds.
Prompted to give a clear reply by the magistrate, Inspector Abdilla said the case was also about the fact that works were not covered by a tender and the contractor never got paid.
A number of the works in question were meant to prevent flooding
Dr Giglio also asked him whether it was in the remit of the accused to acquiesce to a request for help made by the Għarb mayor. Inspector Abdilla acknowledged that the accused was entitled to carry out such works but pointed out that once again Mr Debono had not paid the contractor.
There were heated exchanges between the lawyer and inspector at one stage, which prompted the magistrate to suspend proceedings for five minutes.
The defence remarked that the prosecution’s thesis that the accused had not found the time to “invent” some invoices for works carried out in 2006, to settle the pending amount, was not credible. The prosecution replied that payments had never been issued for the simple reason that they were not covered by a tender.
Dr Giglio held that works on a concrete platform for the Għarb village feast fell within the department’s remit.
“Aren’t you aware how many works CMU carries out in private properties such as Astra theatre and Wirt Għawdex?” the defence asked.
Inspector Abdilla replied that this project had no planning permit.
Dr Giglio said a number of the works in question were meant to prevent flooding. These included a water reservoir between Qala and Nadur, concrete works in Fontana and the excavation of a cellar for Brookies restaurant in Victoria.
Winding up his arguments, he pointed out that the prosecution had largely failed to challenge his arguments, except for two cases which involved excavation works to link a private residence in Għasri to the public sewers, and a country path.
At the start of yesterday’s proceedings, Inspector Rennie Stivala took the stand. He testified that the director of projects at the Gozo Ministry, Joe Portelli, had complained to Ms Debono about unauthorised works being carried out by her husband.
As a result there were instances where Mr Portelli had refused to process a number of payments. Inspector Stivala observed that the works were mostly concentrated around local and general elections.
The case was adjourned to next Tuesday when Mr Cauchi, the whistleblower, is expected to testify.