A former contracts manager at the Sliema local council whose allegations brought down the mayor painted himself as the victim in the case when he testified yesterday.

“The person who is suffering from this case is me because I’m still unemployed,” Stephen Buhagiar said. He insisted that former mayor Nikki Dimech had quite plainly asked him how much he was ready to “offer”, such as five or 10 per cent commission, to secure him a job as contracts manager with the council before he was actually given the ­position.

Mr Dimech is charged with bribery and reviling, threatening or insulting a police officer.

Mr Buhagiar told the court he immediately pointed out he had little to offer with a salary of €1,200 a month (attached to the contracts manager’s position) and added that he never heard any mention of the matter subsequently. Then, five months into the job, he noticed certain things being done against him and he then lost his job and had been out of work ever since.

Shortly before he was fired, he had questioned local councillor Yves (Bobby) Calì about why the council was still using the services of a contractor, Joe Vella, when he was clearly not reaching the required standard. Mr Calì’s answer was that “he is delivering”.

Sometime later, Mr Buhagiar issued a default notice to Mr Vella and he was told by an employee at the council, Thea Borg, that all default notices were to be sent to the council before being given to the contractor, he said. However, he was not aware that this was how things should be done and he lost his job shortly after that.

Questioned three times about the dynamics of the conversation in which Mr Dimech allegedly asked for a commission, Mr Buhagiar replied in the same manner, that it was a plain question.

He said the proposition was made while the two spoke in what had become regular chats after the two had become friends, brought together by Sliema MP Noel Arrigo. In fact, he and Mr Arrigo helped Mr Dimech to get elected by doing the usual work such as house visits during his campaign, the witness said.

Following his sacking, he informed the Parliamentary Secretary for Local government Chris Said and the Nationalist Party general secretary, Paul Borg Olivier, about the matter and what Mr Dimech had asked him for. Sometime later he received a phone call from the council’s customer care employee, Daniel Micallef, who asked to speak to him and the two met in Balluta Bay.

Mr Micallef told him that Mr Dimech had asked him to convey the message that if he did not drop the case against him then he (Mr Dimech) would proceed against him for the shoddy work that had been done near the Sliema police station. Mr Buhagiar replied that if Mr Dimech wanted to speak to him he would have to do so face to face.

Taking the witness stand, a visibly nervous Mr Micallef said he was asked by Mr Dimech to ask Mr ­Buhagiar to drop the case against him and in return he would not proceed against him.

Lawyer Joseph Giglio asked the witness about problems within the council and what he was questioned about at the Internal Audit and Investigations Department (IAID) in the Prime Minister’s Office. Police Inspector Angelo Gafà objected to this line of questioning and Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit asked the lawyer, where the questioning was leading.

Dr Giglio said he was trying to prove the case mentioned by Mr Micallef, the one that Mr Dimech wanted to drop, was not the current court case but, in fact, something entirely different. He was trying to prove, he said, that there was a “sea of trouble” between Mr Buhagiar and Mr Dimech. When the witness continued testifying he could not shed any more light on the subject and was dismissed. The case continues.