[WATCH] Labour challenges Busuttil over 'free' works on de Marco’s house

Labour challenges Busuttil over 'free' works on de Marco’s house

The Labour Party has challenged Opposition leader Simon Busuttil to take action against Mario de Marco over construction works on his house that the PN deputy leader “had no intention of paying for”.

MaltaToday on Sunday revealed that PN deputy leader Mario de Marco last month paid €34,000 for construction works carried out by Redmap Constructions in 2011.

This means that de Marco only paid for the works when Redmap was thrust into the news after its owner Pierre Sladden was mentioned in the Panama Leaks as having used offshore firms in the British Virgin Islands. 

De Marco explained that he had “regularly asked for an invoice in respect of works carried out, but that the contractor insisted that the invoice be made once the works are complete”.

However, parliamentary secretary Deborah Schembri cast doubt over his version of events, questioning why Redmap finally acceded to his invoice requests only last month.

“If [Sladden’s] excuse for not issuing an invoice was because the works weren’t yet complete, then why did he issue an invoice now when the works are still incomplete?” he questioned.

“Is it a coincidence that de Marco only paid the bill now, after Redmap was thrust into the spotlight? “Is there any doubt that the works were originally intended as a gift, and that de Marco had absolutely no intention of paying for them?

She noted how a senior official at Allied Newspapers told MaltaToday that Sladden had also carried out construction work for free for Hillman himself, Allied’s acting managing director Michel Rizzo, and board secretary Clinton Calleja.

“The people can add one plus one, and de Marco’s explanation is an insult to people’s intelligence.”

Tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis urged Busuttil to “seize this golden opportunity” to walk the talk on good governance.

“During one of his protests, Busuttil said that he will kick out PN officials at the merest sniff of corruption,” he said. “If he fails to act on this case, then we can only conclude that he is all talk. Good governance is about taking action, not about making a scene in front of the law courts.”