Local council loses third of EU funds after ‘lack of research’

First of all congratulations to your journalist for the article in question. I followed attentively the contents of the article and the comments that followed. I do not agree with Mr Cousin, the consultant for Marsaskala Local Council in obtaining EU funds for the said project. It appears from the article that the basis for the application of EU funds was it-TORRI TA SAN TUMAS. It also appears that the Marsaskala Local Council had no title whatsoever on the said TORRI. So I ask; How could the Council or its Consultant - in this case Mr Cousin - apply for EU funds on something which the applicant had no title on it? I consider this is the main issue of the matter. I think that Mr Cousin or the Council should have replied to this argument. I agree also with the comment made by your correspondents, that this matter merits a serious investigation by the EU representative in Malta as the amount of funds is substantial. I invite Mr Cousin to explain and clarify this question.

Sur Causon kulhadd jaf kif jintrebhu t-tenders mill-Kunsilli Lokali!! Jien kuljum nimxi u nghaddi mad-dawra tat-Torri San Tumas u telqa shiha hemm. Il-gebel li jiccirkonda il-foss kollu qed jaqa’ ghall-isfel u huwa ta’ periklu. Issa jekk dan int tghidlu progress mela ma ghandikx ghal-qalbek ir-rahal taghna u li ghamilt kollox ghal-flus. Vera twesset il-bankina u saru xi railings imma mhijhomx kompluti u int taf ghaliex. Ghax dik l-art il-Kunsill qatt ma setgha japplika Fondi mill-EU ghaliha, kif gibed l-attenzjoni tal-Kunsill il-kunsillier, is-sur Lawrence Ciantar. Issa ghad ghandna Torri zdingat u suppost sar attrazzjoni turistika. Kif il-Kunsill issa se juri b’mod onest li qed igib 700 turist fis-sena meta s-Sindku stess iddikjara li kienu qeghdin jibbazaw fuq it-Torri li jsir Muzew? Hemm hafna mistoqsijiet li jinhtiegilhom risposti??????

Wara l-kummenti ta’ Mark Causon, il-project manager, inhoss li mhux biss l-Onor. Herrera u l-Onor. Borg ghandhom jaghmlu nvestigazzjoni, imma pjuttost l-EU jew l-Ufficcju taghha f’Malta. 85% tal-fondi gew proprju mill-European Regional Development Fund 2007-2013. Il-Konsulent li applika ghal dawn il-fondi flimkien mas-Sindku u s-Segretarju Ezekuttiv ghandhom iwiegbu ghat-telf sostanzjali ta’ fondi, imma mhux biss irid jirritorna l-flus lura fil-kaz tal-konsulent ghax applika ghal xi haga li ma kinitx taqa’ taht il-Kunsill. Mal-gurnal ILLUM Mark Causon ammetta li kien hemm telf sostanzjali u fir-risposta tieghu ma semma xejn dwar kif abbanduna l-progett qabel ma x-xoghol kien tlesta kollu u thallsu l-flus mill-EU. l-informazzjoni tat-telf ta’ fondi giet ikkonfermata mis-Segretarju Parlamentari ghall-Fondi Ewropej. Dan huwa qerq li ma jistax jigi ttollerat. Sadattant it-telqa u l-abbandun li jezisti mad-dawra tat-Torri San Tumas hija ta’ ghajb kbir.

Sir, I refer to the article and the comments posted by your readers regarding the ERDF( European Regional Development Fund 2007-2013) project The Regeneration of the Tourism Market in Marsaskala. The article gives the impression that funds where lost due to negligence, which is completely untrue because when the project application was submitted, we based the costs on estimates which were provided by an architect and others based on quotes which we had received. However when the budget was approved and tenders issued for the works, the offers received where cheaper in price then the estimates, hence the loss of funds. The project has actually installed more than 200 metres of railing which is 75% of the railing asked for and the missing 25% where not installed because of changes in the plan as approved by MEPA. One of your readers made a lot of insinuations about me personally and i would like to clarify that i was employed by a company following a call for quotations which the company i worked with won. Our brief was to assist the council in tapping EU funds, write applications, mange and administer all funded projects for a period of 1 year. During this 1 year contract, we secured for the council a number of awarded projects which we also managed and where paid by the council according to the agreement for providing these services but where not paid the said amount for just 1 project as Pierre and Abela are insinuating. I find it very offensive that some readers insinuate without checking the facts. I can assure your readers that all the approved projects where completed according to the parameters of the grant agreements and should one need proof all they need to do is visit the area to see all the completed works.

Din mhux l-ewwel tbazwira ta’ dan il-Kunsill. Fil-legislaturi ta’ qabel dejjem taht it-tmexxija tas-Sindku attwali kien hemm il-kaz tal-pubblikazzjoni xejn trasparenti tal-magazin tal-Kunsill u l-gbir ta’ fondi ghat-tfal fqar tal-Perù. Dan is-sur Mark Causon mhux wicc gdid ghal dan il-Kunsill. Kien involut u mqabbad drabi ohra qisu ghandu xi l-jedd fuq dan il-Kunsill. Meta Mark Causon ra li l-affarijiet ma kienux sejrin sew qabad u abbanduna dan il-progett u talab ghal flus dovuti lili. Dan sar qabel ma kien lest u thallsu l-fondi mill-Galxlokk ghal dan il-progett, l-ikbar li qatt kellu dan il-Kunsill. Jidher li hemm tmexxija hazina f’dan il-Kunsill.

Pero l-maniger li qabbad il-Kunsill ghal dan il-progett, certu Mark Causon, thallas fuq li thallas, ghax anke biss biex gie ngaggat ha kwazi s-somma ta’ €8,000 u min jaf kemm swietu l-Kunsill ghal konsulenza tieghu. Mhux billi l-Kunsill qaghad jiftahar kemm rebah flus mill-EU, irid ikun korrett u jkun jaf jiggestihom. Nispera ma jitlifx il-kumplament tal-fondi ghax ma’ dan il-progett kien hemm kondizzjoni li torbot lill-Kunsill irid igib 700 turist fis-sena ghal-hames snin shah u kif intwera mill-minuti tal-Kunsill fuq il-gurnal ILLUM is-Sindku ammetta li kienu qeghdin jibbazaw li jattiraw dawn it-turisti minhabba t-Torri ta’ San Tumas li jsir Muzew tal-Piraterija. Bhalissa herba shiha hemm madwar dan it-Torri majestuz…….

U dan Mario Calleja bil-midalja ta’ Sindku mdawwra m’ghonqu f’kummenti minn gewwa l-Parlament waqt is-sezzjoni taz-zaghzagh ta’ 16 il-sena, ikkritika l-burokrazija tal-gvern precedenti meta hu ghamel aghar ghax applika ghal fondi mill-EU meta ma kienx jaf ghalxiex qed japplika jew jekk kien jaf haseb li kollox jghaddi mal-Unjoni Ewropea. Sindku bla vizjoni u kollu tahwid.

Fancy loosing one third of the approved EU funds around €120,000., and as if nothing the matter. The Mayor and Executive Secretary should carry the brunt and be forced to resign for misleading the Council in applying for EU funds when it was not possible and for hiding this discrepancy. I bet the Council’s Executive Secretary got awarded top performance bonus for this charade.

That area around Torri San Tumas is in a pitiful dangerous state. The council’s official website to this present day features the EU funds ‘the Regeneration of Tourism Market in Marsascala ERDF212’. The Tower should have been transformed as a Pirate Museum and the area kept bubbling with tourism. Nothing of the sort, there is waste scattered everywhere and no one seems to be responsible. I read the article in the newspaper ILLUM and the report is spot on. Shame on the Council.