Gozo constituents offered free construction, paid by ministry

A devious scheme to provide construction work done for free by constituents in Gozo has been revealed by a Gozitan whistleblower, MaltaToday can report.

The scheme was coordinated by former Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono’s husband Anthony.

The whistleblower has claimed that the scheme was purposely aimed at people who were potential voters of the former minister. It included construction work organised months before the last election in 2013 and executed even on election day itself.

The scheme involved private Gozitan building contractors who were commissioned by Anthony Debono, who was employed at the Gozo ministry, to carry out cement, concrete and construction works on quarries, private homes, roads and garages to constituents at no cost to them.

No tenders were issued for the work carried out and neither did the contractors have a letter of acceptance to show for the work done.

To be paid, the private contractors would have to invoice the Gozo ministry on work which they did not carry out but under other projects that falls under the remit of the works department of the Ministry for Gozo, where Anthony Debono was in charge.

List of private works billed to ministry seen by MaltaToday

All the material for these works was provided by the Gozo ministry itself – including cement, stone and metal mesh.

MaltaToday has been able to see a list of most of the works carried out for private Gozitan individuals – they include an illegal garage in a quarry, private works for a Gozitan Nationalist mayor, works on a restaurant close to Victoria, a water reservoir, garages in Nadur, works on an illegal Gozitan experimental farm, a road at Sellum in Xaghra, works on a fireworks factory, homes in Zebbug and Santa Lucia, and works on a bakery next to Ta’ Pinu and the building of a wall in Gharb.

Invoices and photographic evidence of all these works have been seen by MaltaToday and are believed to be in the possession of the police.

It is also believed that this fraudulent practice had been going on for a number of years.

Anthony Debono, as officer in charge, was also responsible for ensuring that the projects and development department would issue invoices for works that were never carried out by the private contractors, but which were done elsewhere by the Gozo ministry such as at Wied Mielah and Wied il-Lunzjata, among other places. Many of these works had been finished or were near to being finalised.

One such case involved work ‘done’ at Wied Siker in Fontana, with the Gozo ministry issuing a tender for works there which the contractor had not done. The costs for the works however covered work he had done at a private residence.

Debono was not only responsible for ordering the works, but he would personally accompany the contractors and inform them about the nature of the works. At least five contractors were involved. MaltaToday was told that Debono would phone the contractors and direct and explain to them the nature of a particular job.

In one particular instance the work on a road which was surfaced with cement was carried out on the same day of the 2013 election, to the surprise of the constituents living in that road.

READ MORE Gozo minister finds nothing unethical with her husband's position

Anthony Debono refused to answer questions when contacted. Giovanna Debono, told about the matter, said it was the first time she was hearing about it, she had no knowledge of it, she said, so could not comment.

Debono’s conflict of interest as the husband of Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono had been flagged by MaltaToday as far back as 2004. Giovanna Debono had been quizzed at the time by journalist Matthew Vella over her husband’s role.

Debono’s reply had been that she had no qualms about the fact that her husband Tony was the officer-in-charge of the Construction and Maintenance Unit (CMU), the department which is mainly responsible for carrying out roadworks, dispatching construction materials and general maintenance.


“My husband is given orders and he executes those orders. He is an official of the government, and has nothing to do with government contracts,” she had said.

Tony Debono was responsible for general public works around the island of Gozo, as well as roadworks, general maintenance of government property and housing, infrastructural maintenance, and other services for different government offices. Debono was at a time also responsible for the government stores, and the provision of important supplies for the construction of roads, such as concrete.

Giovana Debono was a star candidate for the Nationalist Party in Gozo. In the three elections, in 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2013 she was elected on the first count, with 4,949, 6,591, 5,633 and 4,751 first count votes respectively.

Last September, Debono announced she would not be standing for parliament again. It could not be established yesterday whether the higher echelons of the Nationalist Party were aware of what was going on in the Gozo Ministry when the PN was in government.

From depositions given by the whistleblower it now turns out that Anthony Debono was indeed responsible for many decisions taken at the Construction and Maintenance Unit. The whistleblower and other private contractors have said that they were not in a position to refuse work.

“In Gozo, we were completely dependent on Anthony Debono, we were not in a position to refuse work. Yes, we knew that there was something shady about the works we were doing. We asked no questions and all payments were covered by fiscal receipts. But it was obvious that they were related to favours for constituents,” they said.