Sta Venera mayor Elizabeth Vella resigned yesterday after an investigation revealed she had breached financial regulations when she accepted €80 in donations from a teacher who used the council premises to give private lessons.
The investigation, conducted by the Auditor General, was instigated by the council’s executive secretary who reported the alleged irregularity. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi followed it up in March by ordering the investigation.
Ms Vella was mayor in 2008 when the Nationalist Party regained the majority at the typically blue town.
The executive secretary had specified in a report that, without informing the council, the mayor had received rental income for the use of the council premises by a teacher to hold private classes.
Ms Vella told the Auditor that, although she had told the teacher that payment was not obligatory, the teacher still made a donation. She admitted she had received €80 in two payments of €25 each and another payment of €30 from a tutor – her neighbour – who gave lessons at the council offices. The contributions were in cash and no receipts had been issued.
The investigation revealed how Ms Vella had topped up the amount by €20 of her money to make it a round figure and deposited it in a joint account called Fond Ngħinu lil Ħaddieħor, held jointly by the council and the parish priest since the year 2000 specifically for funds for charitable events.
The secretary’s report states that although Ms Vella said the councillors had been informed that the council premises would be used for private classes, this verbal statement had not been documented in the council’s minutes.
The executive secretary had referred the tutor to the mayor when he asked how much he should donate for using the council’s premises.
“In similar circumstances, when consent was given to hold private classes at the LC’s premises, the normal procedure was that students pay their tuition fees directly to the council, whereby the latter subsequently pays the tutor an agreed amount,” the report said.
The Auditor concluded that since they were sustained by public funds, councils were to be accountable for the recording of all income received and of all assets falling under their responsibility.
Soon after the Auditor published his findings, Ms Vella wrote to the executive secretary and to PN general secretary Paul Borg Olivier, resigning from her post as mayor and councillor with immediate effect.
In her letter, she said her intentions were genuine. She explained that she had offered the council’s premises for classes in the best interests of the children who needed help with revision and had deposited the money in a joint account the council had with the parish priest.
“For as long as I have been a councillor and a mayor, I was always guided by high ethical standards. In view of this, I am resigning my post as councillor and mayor,” she said in her resignation letter.
While accepting her resignation, the Nationalist Party thanked Ms Vella for doing what was, for her, morally and ethically correct in the circumstances. The PN expects ethical and serious behaviour from councillors elected on its behalf, it said.