Times faces libel over FTS allegations

Education minister Evarist Bartolo has filed libel proceedings against the editor of the Sunday Times of Malta Raymond Bugeja and journalist Ivan Camilleri over an article which claimed that the minister had instructed the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools to pay a tiling contractor €418,000 above the value of the original tender.

The article, which was published on Wednesday 18 January, says that an internal report had warned Bartolo that tiling contractor Avantgarde Projects Ltd had “billed the FTS for quantities of tiles and marble that had not been certified, charged rates well above those stipulated in the original contract and supplied materials not requested by the FTS.”

The internal report had recommended against upholding the contractor's claims, but according to the article in question, the minister had followed the advice of his Permanent Secretary, Joseph Caruana, to “close the litigation” and settle the claim.

Avantgarde Projects reportedly ended up receiving over €1 million for a €540,000 job, as a result.

On Monday, Bartolo told reporters that he had tried to “solve an issue left by the previous administration” over pending bills at the FTS and accused journalists of launching a dishonest attack against him.

Lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo are appearing as legal counsel to the minister.