Olaph Terribile insists he is a victim of a 'complete fabrication'

Terribile, a seasoned diplomat with 30 years experience in the civil service, that included high postings in Beijing, Riyadh and London, categorically denied the allegation - as made to President Abela by his press secretary Marica Mizzi - of ever having shown or handed any documents to MaltaToday managing editor Saviour Balzan.

Olaph Terribile appeared before the chairman of the inquiry Alfred Fiorini Lowell - a former Cabinet secretary - and reportedly told him that he never met Saviour Balzan or gave him any documents.

Informed sources at Castille told MaltaToday that the former secretary to the presidency stressed during his hearing that he was a victim of a "complete fabrication" made by Marica Mizzi who signed the report that was passed on to President Abela and subsequently to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi who appointed the inquiry.

Mizzi - an actress, catapulted to the Palace after being hand-picked by Abela on his nomination to the presidency - reported what was allegedly said over a table during a State Dinner on June 30 at the Palace in Valletta, given in honour of visiting Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

She  told Abela that Malta Independent political editor Noel Grima mentioned that he met Terribile when speaking about MaltaToday's stories about allegations of impropriety at the Palace, and added that he (Terribile) also met with Saviour Balzan and gave him documents.

The allegation prompted George Abela to call an unprecedented press conference at San Anton and publically 'dumped' his former secretary to the presidency announcing that he had "lost trust" in the man, and added that it was he who called on the Head of the Civil Service Godwin Grima to have Terribile removed from office on the eve of his new posting as Malta's Deputy High Commissioner to London. That declaration shocked the civil service and government, as Abela apparently made it on the sole premise  that what Marica Mizzi had told him was true.

Despite calls by the media for Marica Mizzi to step down from her post, she still remains hanging to her job, ignoring all official correspondence and questions put by the media to the Palace.  Critics have stated that Mizzi's allegations have dragged the presidency into disrepute.

Meanwhile the Palace has continued in its silence to a series of questions raised by MaltaToday into the way the it  was handling recruitment of personnel and administering State finances. President Abela himself admitted during the press conference that the Community Chest Fund had employed Fabian Mizzi and Noel Pace, both directors of ‘Image 2000’ a beleaguered production company of which the president’s press secretary Marica Mizzi is also company secretary.

Issues at the Palace had been brewing for a couple of weeks as Terribile clashed with other aides to the President who had no experience in the civil service. He is understood to have insisted with other staff members who don’t have any experience in the civil service to ‘get their act together’ and not to put the Presidency into jeopardy.

The finance ministry had reportedly issued a series of warnings to the Office of the Presidency over ‘financial regulations’ to be followed “at all times”, in a clear reference to a series of purchases that were recently made by the Palace.