Updated 4.10pm with PL statement

Former Birkirkara mayor Michael Fenech Adami broke public procurement rules in issuing contracts for road resurfacing, car rentals and cleaning services without following established procedures, an investigation has found.

In a nine-page report into allegations of impropriety, the Local Governance Board urged the director of the local governance department to penalise Mr Fenech Adami and former council secretary Arthur Pizzuto using "whatever measures they see fit".

Former mayor Michael Fenech Adami has rejected the accusations.

The investigation, which the Board said was prompted by allegations made by Labour Party Birkirkara councillors, began in January of this year.

It found that, during his time as mayor, Mr Fenech Adami had:

• Tasked V&C Contractors with road resurfacing works without issuing a call to tender or discussing the issue, formally or informally, with fellow council members
  
  
• Spent €30,000 on car rentals from Davico Services and €54,000 on photocopier rentals from Corex International between 2010 and 2013 without having issued a call to tender
  
  
• Bought 10 computer desks at a cost of €11,900 from G-Force Electronic Services without issuing a call to tender
  
  
• Hired 10 recycling bins off General Cleaners for €2,809 without having informed other council members and without following procurement procedures
  
  
• Paid Northern Cleaning €3,000 a month to empty rubbish skips without having issued a call to tender and based solely on a verbal agreement 

'Politically motivated': Fenech Adami

In a written statement, Mr Fenech Adami dismissed the Board's conclusions as having been based on "half truths and false accusations," and accused it of being politically motivated. 

He said that current mayor Joanne Debono Grech - the person who had asked for the investigation in the first place - had voted in favour of all his decisions as mayor, and was now trying to mask her failings by pinning the blame on him. 

The Nationalist Party also rejected the Board's findings, saying it could not accept any conclusions made by a board containing partisan characters such as Ronnie Pellegrini. 

Mr Pellegrini, who sits on the board alongside Arthur Ellul and chairman Noel Bartolo, was roundly criticised last month for posting a comment on Facebook agreeing that PL stalwarts should be favoured in the public sector.  Mr Pellegrini is also the chief of staff to Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli. 

Companies complicit, board says

In its report, the Local Governance Board accused V&C contractors of having been complicit in the rule-breaking, noting that a contract detailing the works was only signed after the works had been completed. 

Contracts for car and photocopier rentals had only been signed by Mr Fenech Adami in his capacity as mayor, the Board found. By law, council secretaries, in this case Mr Pizzuto, must also sign such procurement contracts.

The Board noted that council secretaries are legally bound to monitor and control council accounts and financial operations, as well as to immediately report any irregularities they may come across. 

Computer desks had been intended for IT courses run by the council, with Mr Fenech Adami telling the Board that the idea was for course fees to finance the desk outlay.

But the Board noted that there was no record of any course fees being entered into the local council's accounts, or of money being spent on the desks themselves. 

It concluded that Mr Fenech Adami had agreed to buy the desks behind the backs of his fellow council members, including Mr Pizzuto.

Nor was Mr Pizzuto aware of a contract signed to hire recycling bins, or of a separate contract to empty bins, the Board found. The latter, which Mr Fenech Adami argued was an amendment to an already-existing tender, saw costs jump by 31 per cent. By law, any variations greater than 10 per cent must be opened up to a call to tender. 

Last June, the Local Governance Board had similarly censured Nadur's former mayor Charles Said and former executive secretary Rita Mifsud Attard after finding that the two had bypassed procurement regulations and issued almost €38,000 in direct orders.

Busuttil 'hostage' - PL

In a statement this afternoon, the Labour Party accused the Nationalist leader of defending Dr Fenech Adami instead of taking action. 

"He is doing this because the PN deputy leader's brother is behind this scandal. He also employed Michael Fenech Adami at the PN headquarters at the expense of others," the PL said.

Labour recalled that the Local Governance Board had similarly drawn up reports critical of Labour mayors during this legislature, decisions which both Dr Busuttil and Beppe Fenech Adami had cited for political mileage. 

"But in this case, Dr Busuttil is Dr Fenech Adami's hostage."