Updated 11.30 am with council statement 

The limits of charity may have been put to the test this week when San Ġwann parish discovered it had been inadvertently footing the bill for a public garden's electricity supply.

Power was being supplied from the chapel of St Philip and St James, better known as Tal-Prepostu, on Tal-Balal Road, next to a stretch of rural land that last year was converted into what was dubbed a pollinator garden.

The work was funded by state agency Project Green and was run by the San Ġwann local council.

However, this week the chapel’s caretaker discovered that the electricity running the 12 lamp posts in the garden is inexplicably being powered directly by the chapel.

The issue came up during a local council meeting on Monday where ways to resolve the issue were discussed.

When contacted by Times of Malta, San Ġwann parish priest Fr Bertrand Vella explained that there was a period where he did not have a key to the chapel, and only obtained one in June.

When it came to meter readings, Fr Vella said he relied on the religious chapter of St Helen in Birkirkara, which holds the deed to the chapel, to either open the chapel for him or have the chapter’s secretary text him the reading.

The pollinator garden was completed as a joint initiative between Project Green and the San Ġwann local council in March of this year.

'Mysterious wire jutting out of the meter'

After getting a key to the chapel, Vella went to take a meter reading himself for the first time last week. There, he was surprised to find a mysterious wire jutting out of the meter, that when followed fed directly into the adjacent garden.

“Honestly, I had noticed that the bill was rather high for a seldom-used chapel, but I didn’t think much about it and just paid it,” Vella said.

The parish priest said his initial reaction was to switch off the supply but later turned it back on after he realised it would leave the garden in darkness.

“I was somewhat annoyed that no one informed me about this situation,” he said.

Vella said that since raising the issue with the council he has found cooperation with the councillors and said he has been told the council is working on resolving the situation.

Questions were sent to Project Green and the San Ġwann local council asking for clarity on how the situation came to be and what is being proposed to remedy the situation.

Project Green said that while it provided financial support against receipts presented by the council, the implementation of the project, including electricity supply, fell under the council's responsibility.

Council offers to reimburse parish for ‘oversight’ 

In reply to questions sent by Times of Malta, the San Ġwann local council said that continued use of the chapel’s electricity was an “oversight” and that they have offered to pay the bill for consumption. 

The council said that they had been granted access to the chapel by the priest however, he had not been informed that electricity had been diverted from the chapel. 

“The use of electricity from the chapel was only meant to be on a temporary basis but inadvertently an oversight happened in which the lights remained connected to the chapel.  Having spoken with the parish priest, I can confirm that he was not aware of this situation,” council general secretary Kurt Guillaumier said. 

The council, he added, had offered to pay for the electricity bill but said that Fr Vella has refused the offer. 

“San Ġwann local council has offered to pay the bill for the consumption of electricity, however, the parish priest has kindly refused stating that the excellent working relationship between the council and the parish is strong and the San Gwann local council has contributed thousands of euros towards the parish,” he said.

The council will be applying for a separate electricity supply for the garden.