Presidency strays from transparency pledge and ignores questions on alleged impropriety

Contrary to President George Abela’s pledge for “total transparency”  the Palace has shown no regard for any query on the allegations of overspending and has so far got away with no inquiry.

After refusing to respond to no less than 65 phone calls in a month, 15 emails and numerous messages left with the secretariat at the Office of the President both at The Palace in Valletta and San Anton Palace in Attard, press secretary Marica Mizzi dared to slam the phone, when MaltaToday called once more for answers last Friday.

Marica Mizzi – a former actress – is still hanging onto her job, despite dragging the Presidency into disrepute after leading George Abela by the nose and compromising his position by fabricating a story that ended up being investigated and implicating a high-ranking and reputed civil servant and MaltaToday managing editor Saviour Balzan.

An inquiry set up by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi who received official correspondence from the Palace alleging a leakage of documents by the former secretary to the Presidency Olaph Terribile to MaltaToday, was concluded by Alfred Fiorini Lowell and sent to the Attorney General’s Office for ‘advice’.

The report was a transcription of what Marica Mizzi ‘overeheard’ during a conversation at one of the tables during a State Dinner held on June 30, in honour of visiting Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

During that dinner, Malta Independent political editor Noel Grima had made reference to stories published by MaltaToday about the allegations of impropriety at the Palace, and reportedly stressed that the Office of the President had to respond.

He added however, that he had met up with Olaph Terribile for lunch during that period, and went on to say that Terribile also had ‘a file in hand’ when he met him.

With this, Noel Grima suggested that “like Terribile met him, he would have also met Saviour Balzan.”

That suggestion reportedly threw the president’s staff into a panic, prompting George Abela to call a press conference as he assumed that MaltaToday would come out with a big story about the goings-on inside his office.

During that press conference, President Abela declared that he had “lost trust” in the former secretary to the Presidency. The statement was based on the sole premise that what Marica Mizzi had told him was true.

The inquiry headed by Fiorini Lowell discarded the allegation of document leakage by Terribile, as it could never be proven, while it also discarded the allegation about a meeting with Saviour Balzan as it never happened.

No inquiry however has been set up to investigate the string of allegations of impropriety at the Palace, with thousands of euro’s spend in the refurbishment of the former Blue Room, now the Sir Anthony Mamo room at San Anton Palace.

No answers were forthcoming from the Office of The President about the way in which the Community Chest Fund that is run by President George Abela, engaged Fabian Mizzi and Noel Pace as employees.

The two are directors of Image 2000, a beleaguered TV production company that was ‘absorbed’ into the Office of the Presidency and became the audiovisual department of the Palace.

Fabian Mizzi is also the former husband to press secretary Marica Mizzi, who still appears as company  secretary to ‘Vision 2000’, while Noel Pace is in a relationship with Fabian Mizzi.

The network was also revealed by Noel Grima who alleged it’s “all in the family” at the Palace, while even explaining that George Abela was lawyer to Marica Mizzi during her separation proceedings with Fabian Mizzi.

The Office of the President has refused to divulge any information about the salaries the Community Chest Fund are paying Fabian Mizzi and Noel Pace.

Meanwhile, the President’s first cousin has been engaged as private secretary at the Palace.