Some of the PN’s part-time employees have not been paid since February. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

More than a month after the new Nationalist Party administration took over, finance remains a problem, with a number of employees yet to receive their May salary.

As the wave of enthusiasm brought about by the election of the new leadership trio subsides, PN employees anxiously await developments, especially after leader Simon Busuttil appointed leadership contestant and experience entrepreneur Raymond Bugeja to head a commission tasked to oversee the party’s financial situation and make recommendations on the way forward.

The commission, which has been meeting since May 29, is understood to have been given full access to the party’s accounts and its assets, which are mainly the clubs across Malta and Gozo.

However, some of these properties have already been collateralised. This means the party would have to seek other sources of revenue or turn to its members once again for financial assistance.

For the time being, it seems that there is no light at the end of the tunnel

In a telethon on June 9, the party raised more than €355,000.

Asked by Times of Malta whether the commission will soon be making its recommendations to the party, Mr Bugeja would only say that “work is in its final stages” but declined to give further details saying he is bound by secrecy.

The PN leader had urged the commission at its first meeting to carry out its task in the shortest time possible.

In recent days, PN secretary general Chris Said addressed party employees to brief them about the situation but sources said that no significant developments were registered.

News about the party’s financial woes emerged in April when this newspaper revealed about 150 employees had been informed by the management on Maundy Thursday that they would not be receiving their wages on time.

It was only by the end of the month that they started to receive their basic wages in cash.

So far, no overtime payments have been made and some of the part-time employees have not been paid since February.

The situation persisted in the months that followed with the ‘most urgent’ cases being given priority by the management.

As expected, this decision did not go down well with those at the bottom of the pecking order, who felt discriminated against.

After failing to get paid on time for the fourth month running, some employees told this newspaper they were now bracing themselves for further misery expecting the situation to persist in months to come.

While they are fully aware that no change in leadership or administration was likely to bring about miraculous overnight changes, they expressed their disappointment that “nothing has changed and that, for the time being, it seems that there is no light at the end of the tunnel”.

Even the appointment of a CEO responsible for the commercial entities seems to have been put on hold.

Calls for the creation of this post were not only made by the leadership contestants but also featured in the election report compiled by Ann Fenech, who is now president of the executive committee.

Contacted by Times of Malta, PN secretary general Chris Said yesterday said that during his first month in office he took full stock of the situation to understand the needs and concerns of employees and to see how the party had been operating commercially.

Dr Said confirmed that the Bugeja commission was concluding its report on how to restore the sustainability of the party’s various commercial entities.