Three Siġġiewi local councillors have raised concern over giving the locality’s highest award to former Labour MP Bertu Pace, “a person who has been embroiled in controversy”.

Pace is set to be awarded the Onorifiċenza Mertu Siġġiewi, an honour granted to citizens for having served the locality or country to the highest order and in an exemplary manner.

In 2016, Times of Malta reported that Pace, consultant to then agriculture parliamentary secretary Roderick Galdes, had been suspended after the police launched an investigation into a permit for his daughter for a villa outside a development zone.

The permit was issued in the name of Roderick Farrugia, his son-in-law, and an investigation by the Agriculture Department had led to the Planning Authority starting procedures to revoke the permit. 

The probe concluded that Pace had worked with a director-general within the ministry to forge a document enabling the permit to be approved. 

Pace and Farrugia had denied the procedure was irregular or obtained through false documentation.

Minority leader Alessia Psaila Zammit said there had always been a unanimous vote on the council on people nominated for the award.

“It is only this year that the Labour-led Siġġiewi local council wants to honour a person who has been embroiled in controversy,” she said.

Instead of seeking unity, as always happened in the past on this award, the mayor had opted for division, she said. He was ignoring concerns that she and councillors Julian Borg and Francine Farrugia raised.

Mayor Dominic Grech was asked for a reaction to his colleagues’ concern and why the council was still going ahead with the proposal despite the lack of a unanimous vote.

He replied that every councillor had the opportunity to nominate someone and to comment on nominations. 

Other questions, sent to the council, remained unanswered.