Labour election candidates paid almost €35,000 to mass events organiser TEC Limited, a company that in recent years was awarded hundreds of thousands in government contracts.
Financial declarations filed with the Electoral Commission show that six Labour candidates, who today form part of Robert Abela’s cabinet, paid a total of €34,729 to TEC Limited throughout the March campaign.
Since 2013, the logistics company has supplied the Labour Party with most of the equipment, including massive tents, used in public activities.
TEC has also been the recipient of several government direct orders worth thousands of euros each.
According to the declarations, Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg racked up the biggest bill – €15,000 for six events held during the campaign.
Borg spent the most – €4,025.57 – for an event in Rabat held on March 14. An event in Dingli cost almost as much, €4,000.
Details on the cost of these events are scant, with the invoices from TEC simply stating they were charging Borg for “supply and set-up, including dismantling of event equipment”.
The invoices do not say what equipment was used during any of the six events.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Aaron Farrugia also paid TEC a hefty €9,400, and as with Borg, details on what this payment included are limited. The declarations only include one invoice showing the fee charged was for “logistics and rentals for electoral campaign 2022”.
Energy Minister Miriam Dalli and Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri also both turned to TEC for their events logistics, each spending more than €6,000. In Dalli’s case, the amount was split over two events while Camilleri spent the entire amount on one activity.
Unlike Borg and Farrugia, Dalli provided more detailed information about the TEC services, with the invoice for events showing she made use of “leather cubes”, “leather bench”, and audio system, film equipment, light equipment as well as transport, setup, and dismantling.
A second invoice detailed how TEC provided Dalli with a table, foldable chairs, grey carpets, as well as sound systems.
Like Dalli, Camilleri’s invoice included some details about the cost, namely that the company supplied him with four
feather flags, a trailer that was wrapped, transportation, a generator and “services”.
Newly-elected junior minister Chris Bonnet paid TEC around €3,670, while Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo’s events cost him around €2,645.
Justice Minister Jonathan Attard also opted to make use of TEC’s services but he spent significantly less than his colleagues, paying just €300.
The expense was labelled under “miscellaneous” and no additional details were included.