Opposition leader Simon Busuttil again skirted around the issue of whether he would be taking any immediate action against former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono after new allegations of political interference surfaced.
Malta Today last Sunday published a 2005 letter written by Frank Psaila, who was the permanent secretary at the Gozo Ministry, in which he listed instances of political interference in the running of the civil service in Gozo.
The previous Sunday, the same newspaper reported allegations by a whistle-blower that Ms Debono’s husband used to arrange free construction works for Gozitan constituents, which works were then paid for from the Gozo Budget allocation.
Asked about the interference claims, Dr Busuttil reiterated his original position, saying he would wait for the outcome of the police investigation into the free works allegations before considering what action to take, if any, against the MP. “What is worrying is that the Prime Minister seemed to know about these allegations – as he’s been in office for two years – and he’s only revealed the details now, during an electoral campaign.
What is worrying is that the Prime Minister seems to know about these allegations – as he’s been in office for two years – and he’s only revealed the details now, during an election campaign
“The Prime Minister is not fighting wrongdoing but is using the issue for his own purposes,” Dr Busuttil said. When it was pointed out to him that the latest allegations centred on political interference and were therefore not of a criminal nature, Dr Busuttil insisted they were, which was why the Prime Minister had referred the case to the police.
The police are looking into the case of the alleged free works.
“I immediately called Giovanna Debono and asked for her version,” Dr Busuttil said with regard to this allegation. “Both to me, and also publicly, she categorically denied the accusations levelled at her husband.”
He also toned down what he said on Times Talk on Tuesday, when he accused Joseph Muscat of accepting bribes, pointing out that the Auditor General’s report on the controversial Café Premier bailout “raised suspicions”.
When Dr Muscat asked him to clarify whether he was accusing him of actually accepting bribes, Dr Busuttil replied: “Of course.”
Dr Busuttil said yesterday his accusation was based on suspicions, not fact. The way the government was going about its dealings raised suspicions about corruption and bribery.
He noted that the Prime Minister had visited Azerbaijan without any government officials or media accompanying him and such behaviour fuelled suspicions of corruption.