Cospicua mayor accuses minister of acting rashly

Cospicua mayor Joe Scerri yesterday accused Justice and Local Government Minister Austin Gatt of acting rashly when he sent the draft of an auditor's report on the previous council's operations to the police and auditor general.

The report, by auditor Joseph Gauci, the managing partner of Alliott Gauci and Co., claimed "fraud" and "irregularities" in the way former mayor Paul Muscat ran the council's business and recommended that legal action be taken against him.

Mr Muscat has denied any wrongdoing on his part.

The report was commissioned by the council to see whether Mr Muscat and the previous council complied with financial regulations and procedures, and Mr Scerri yesterday said this was the normal procedure that had to be followed.

"When I became mayor, I did not want to step into anyone's shoes. I wanted to start with a clean sheet. I did not do it to hurl mud or hurt anyone," he said.

"But I was surprised that the minister was so eager to circulate the report so quickly. The report is still a draft and will be discussed by the council on September 26. The auditor and council's lawyer will be present and Mr Muscat, his lawyer, the contractors mentioned and their lawyers will also be present and clarifications may be made," he said.

Mr Scerri said he was compelled by law to inform the minister of any wrongdoings within 24 hours.

"But the report is still a draft," he repeated. "We sent it to be in line with the law. The minister did not have the patience to wait."

Dr Gatt yesterday said the report, though in draft form, had been written by an auditor who claimed in writing that fraud, misappropriation and breach of local council regulations had taken place.

"I cannot wait for discussion in a council to take action. The person who wrote the report is a qualified person and I assume that he knows what he is saying. However, I did not draw any conclusions but sent the report to be investigated by competent people.

"There were at least three cases of irregularities mentioned in the report about which the local councils department had already sent a formal notice asking the Cospicua council to correct matters.

"This was when Paul Muscat was mayor and the councillors who are now against him were keeping him on as mayor. The alleged shortcommings by Mr Muscat took place when they were on the council," Dr Gatt said.

"One would have thought that the council would have been convened the minute they received such a serious report and it is strange that it is only to be convened in two weeks' time," Dr Gatt added.

Mr Muscat has claimed that the report is part of an orchestrated campaign meant to undermine him as he is going to contest the next local council elections as an independent candidate after the MLP barred him from representing the party in any way.

Mr Muscat, a staunch Labour supporter, had declared before the party's vigilance board that he had made up a story that he tampered with a ballot in order to have Alfred Sant elected as party leader. The story, he had declared, was made up in order to hurt the rival for the post, Lino Spiteri.