An extension of the Gozo sixth form in Victoria was declared safe by an architect of the Foundation of Tomorrow’s Schools despite doubts raised earlier about certain parts of the building.
The FTS architect responsible for the Gozo project, Clint Camilleri, said in court recently he was not comfortable certifying the works done by the contractor on the extension.
Works in certain areas, especially in the case of roofing and the thickness of concrete, were not up to specifications, and he therefore could not certify them, he said.
He was paid €27,000 by direct order to act as the FTS supervising architect on the project.
Asked if, in view of such declarations, the building, first used by students earlier this year, was safe, a spokeswoman for the Education Ministry replied: “An architect engaged by the FTS certified that the property is structurally safe for its users, according to the present intended use.” The architect was not named.
Works in certain areas were not up to specifications
The building hit the news earlier this year after Gozitan contractor Giovann Vella, of GV Developments, claimed that an Education Ministry official, Edward Caruana, had asked him for a bribe of €30,000 to certify his works.
Subsequently, the police instituted slander procedures against the contractor, in which Clint Camilleri testified. Mr Caruana vehemently rejected the claims.
However, sources said that the police have reopened the case into the Gozo sixth form project following fresh allegations against Mr Caruana, this time by FTS chief executive Philip Rizzo with regard to other projects.
In the meantime, Mr Caruana, the brother of the Education Ministry’s permanent secretary, was transferred from FTS to a government department unconnected to the Education Ministry.
Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said that as soon as internal reports he had ordered indicated the claims should be investigated by the police, he took immediate action to order Mr Caruana’s transfer. He also declared he had lost all trust in Mr Caruana.
The corruption allegations, which are believed to involve hundreds of thousands of euros, are being investigated by the police and the government’s Internal Audit and Investigations Department. No arraignments have been made yet.
The contractor who worked on the Gozo extension was owed about €180,000, the sources said. They noted that the Education Ministry had frozen the payments and filed counterclaims against him asking for reimbursement for remedial works.