Nationalist Party deputy leader Mario de Marco has denied works carried out by contractor Pierre Sladden were meant as a gift, in answer to questions about the timing of his payment for those works.

MaltaToday revealed last Sunday that Dr de Marco paid the €34,000 bill for the works, which started in 2011, shortly after his former best man Adrian Hillman recently stepped down as managing director of Allied Newspapers following bribery allegations involving the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri.

Dr de Marco is a trustee of the Strickland Foundation, majority shareholder in Allied, which has launched an independent inquiry into the bribery allegations.

Mr Sladden, whose name has come up in the Panama Papers, carried out works on Allied’s Mrieħel property though his company Redmap constructions.

Replying to questions from this newspaper, Dr de Marco said the contractor’s reply when asked for invoices was always that the bill would be presented once the works were completed.

Pressed about the timing of his payment he said the invoice was eventually issued when the works were nearly done and the remaining ones were minor.

“I had no reason to have an outstanding bill. I do not need gifts from anyone. If you ask me if I was happy having a contractor who was implicated [in the Panama Papers], of course not. It is unfair to say I demanded the bill after the Panama Papers were released. The bill was demanded before.”

Dr de Marco declared savings in the region of €7,000 in 2013 and €24,000 in 2014. He paid the €34,000 invoice in three installments and funded it through his current income.

“I pay my invoices not from my savings but from my earnings. I have a good income from my profession. It is more than sufficient to pay my bills as I go along. That is how I always do it.”

He said that over 20 contractors were involved in the works on his house, and all those who invoiced him had been paid.

No contract was signed with Mr Sladden because the minor nature of the works did not justify one, he said. The works were carried out over five years but months would pass without any works being done.

Mr Sladden told me that once all the works had been wrapped up he would issue the invoice. This is the reality of it. The moment I got the bill, I paid it in three instalments and I can confirm the cheques have been cashed.

“Mr Sladden told me that once all the works had been wrapped up he would issue the invoice. This is the reality of it. The moment I got the bill, I paid it in three instalments and I can confirm the cheques have been cashed.” 

Isn’t this denting the PN’s good governance credentials? “I trust that insisting on paying one’s bill and having paid it is not cause for that,” he replied.

Dr de Marco also said his case was different to that of former Nationalist MP Joe Cassar, who resigned following allegations that he received gifts from businessman Joe Gaffarena, which included works on his property.

With all due respect to Dr Cassar, he said, the former MP engaged someone who was not a contractor whereas he himself engaged a person in this line of work and paid the bill from his own money.

Asked if he had let Mr Sladden string him along he said that with hindsight “everyone is wise”.

Dr de Marco was also asked if having a politician linked to an independent media organisation was harmful, and whether he had considered stepping down from the Strickland Foundation in the wake of the allegation over the works.

“The irony is that Mabel Strickland was herself a politician. My father was on the Strickland Foundation, he was appointed by Mabel Strickland herself. When Mabel Strickland appointed my father, my father was then deputy leader of the PN. As you are aware, the Strickland Foundation is not the Times.”

Public perception about any perceived influence over the newspaper, he insisted, was incorrect. “The public has to understand that the Times has a very strict policy of non-interference. The Strickland Foundation’s objectives are not the running of the Times. The objectives are to promote democracy, human rights, the European ideal, the notion of the Commonwealth and the idea of a free press.”

He admitted that the allegations involving Mr Hillman hurt. “I have known Adrian for many years. He was a close friend of mine and he was best man at my wedding. All that has happened has hurt me tremendously.

“It is unfair that I get criticised because of this situation. The allegations regarding Adrian Hillman are the subject of an inquiry and I do not think it would be opportune for me to talk about this.”

Allied acting MD and board secretary on works

The acting managing director of Allied Newspapers Limited, Michel Rizzo, has clarified that he paid for minor plastering and re-touching works carried out by Redmap at his house with an original painting by a renowned Maltese artist.

Referring to last Sunday’s story in MaltaToday, entitled ‘Redmap provided works gratis for Allied group officials’, Mr Rizzo said the company carried out urgent repairs on crumbling stonework on an external balcony.

He said that for weeks following execution, he asked Redmap’s Pierre Sladden to send him the invoice, but this never came.

“When I gave up on Mr Sladden, I took it on myself to purchase him a gift as I didn’t want to remain in a state of indebtedness on this matter…. I did my best to ensure that the value of my gift equated to what I felt would reasonably cover the cost of the works carried out.”

Allied board secretary Clinton Calleja, who was mentioned in the article as also having received construction work free of charge, said the works, which consisted of laying a 3cm thick cement layer in two small rooms, cost a trivial €200 to €300.

“I repeatedly asked for a tax invoice to pay for the works. Despite these requests, Redmap never sent the requested tax invoice,” he said.

He added that he had no executive or decision-making role at Allied.