Updated | ‘Opposition chose not to report whistleblower’s information’ – government

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The government has called on the opposition to pass on any information it may have with regard to the Gozo free construction case to the police. Reacting to the news that PN secretary general Chris Said had been contacted by the whistleblower, the government said the opposition should come forward with any information it might have.

“It has now emerged that the PN leader and the secretary general had received information of the abuse that went on under the previous administration. It was their choice not to report that information when they met the whistleblower around two years ago,” the government said.

It reiterated its appeal for anyone with any information to come forward and avail themselves of the Whistleblower’s Act.

Calling on the police to extend their investigation into free construction works to Gozitan constituents beyond 9 March 2013 - election day - PN Secretary General Chris Said hinted at a possible continuation of the allegations which first surfaced in MaltaToday.

Said also confirmed meeting the whistleblower and corresponded with him when the latter approached him after the general election

The newspaper reported how a whistleblower has come forward reporting a devious scheme by which Gozitan constituents were approached Giovanna Debono's husband, Anthony Debono, and offered construction material for free. Two other whistleblowers have since come forward to substantiate claims that they were asked to carry out construction work for private residences or businesses by the Ministry for Gozo.

Allegations are now surfacing that the 'practice' is still going on today: addressing a press conference at the PN's headquarters, Said asked whether it was "true that public resources are being used for private works". Stopping short of mentioning the restaurant by name, the Gozitan MP said it was "legitimate" to ask whether a recently developed restaurant in Gozo had included public resources.

Said said the the whistleblower had referred him to works carried out at Gharb. After contacting mayor David Apap, Said said it resulted that the works were funded by the Ministry for Gozo and any pending payments should be issued by the ministry.

"There wasn't much I could do when the mayor said the works were being paid for by the ministry. I spoke to the whistleblower and suggested that he seeks legal advice to recover his money," Said added.

He also confirmed that the same whistleblower had met the Opposition leader a few days after  Busuttil was elected leader.

"Every abuse is wrong and should be investigated and steps taken as a result of the investigation. The PN leader has been clear that he will be ready to take the necessary steps as soon as there is an outcome of the investigation," Said said on the Debono case.

In a statement, the Nationalist Party claimed that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Gozo Minister Anton Refalo had known about the case for longer than they had claimed to.

“According to the government, the contractor had been acting as a whistleblower for over a year, which means that Muscat hadn’t truly first heard about the case from the media as he had claimed,” the PN said.

“Muscat must realize that he is no longer a journalist, but a Prime Minister, and his interests should lie in seeing justice served.”

Said lambasted the government for what he described as "political advantage" of the situation.

"The government is not fighting abuse but it is making use of these allegations to gain political points because we are in the middle of the local councils election," he said, adding that it was a government trait to hit out at the Opposition whenever the government was with its back against the wall.

Asked whether the new allegations revolving around present works were simply hearsay or whether the PN had concrete proof, Said argued that it was legitimate of the PN to ask the police to extend their investigations. He also added that people talked.

"Both cases will remain an allegation until the police investigation finds something. We already had accusations leveled against former ministers but nothing ever emerged. The investigation should go on," Said said.

In reply to questions, the Secretary General confirmed that his relatives had been spoken to by the police in connection with the case. "I will not delve in the way they were treated by the police, at this stage. But my relatives were utterly disgusted at the way they were spoken to."