When George Abela became President in 2009 he inherited a Community Chest Fund that was making annual losses.
Four years later, Dr Abela has turned the presidential charity fund into a profitable organ, but along with annual surpluses came higher administrative expenses.
According to publicly available accounts, expenses soared by 69 per cent in 2009 (which covered the last year of Eddie Fenech Adami’s presidency – the financial year ends in March).
In Dr Abela’s first full year in office (financial year ending March 2010), expenses increased by 28 per cent and again by 33 per cent in 2011.
Administrative expenses increased by 18 per cent last year.
A financial turning point was reached four years ago when the Community Chest Fund, which is run by a mega board of presidential appointees chaired by the President and his wife, started organising the charity telethon show L-Istrina.
All proceeds from the show went to the fund, which it then distributed to philanthropic organisations.
Before December 2009, L-Istrina was organised by the national broadcaster and the Community Chest Fund was a beneficiary.
Dr Abela had done away with giveaway prizes to entice viewers to phone, a move that caused trepidation but eventually paid off as record sums were collected.
The Community Chest Fund made in excess of €2.5 million in the financial years ending March 2010 and 2011, a far cry from the €792,155 and €707,041 it received in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
Last year the fund registered record income of almost €3 million. Distribution of funds among philanthropic organisations and needy individuals increased from €1.2 million in 2008 to €2.3 million last year.
It was at the point when the Community Chest Fund decided to take over L-Istrina that administrative expenses started to shoot up.
It also signalled the first controversy the President found himself in when his office absorbed an audio-visual company that belonged to his communications officer and her partner.
Although the money paid for the equipment is not listed as a separate item, the accounts show that assets belonging to the Community Chest Fund were valued at almost €25,000 in 2010, a substantial increase on the paltry €371 recorded the previous year.
The reason given at the time was that it made more economic sense to have in-house audio-visual equipment to carry out productions for L-Istrina and other charity events the Community Chest Fund may organise.
But Dr Abela has courted controversy throughout his presidency with the latest one involving a suggestion he made for the Community Chest Fund to finance a training course for a presidential aide, who is his daughter-in-law’s sister.
A redeeming factor in all this is that the Community Chest Fund accounts are audited by a reputable private firm. But as always, audited accounts do not seek to justify whether certain expenses are morally and ethically correct.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com