Gżira Mayor Conrad Borg Manche has urged Labour to take action against a councillor whom he has publicly accused of lying under oath.

Tensions between Borg Manche and fellow Labour Gżira councillor Alexander Calleja Zammit have spilled over in recent weeks, with the latter filing a judicial protest accusing the mayor of breaking the law by refusing to answer his questions about the council’s operations.

The two bickered again in a council meeting held after Calleja Zammit filed his court action.

After initially refusing to comment amount the claims, Borg Manche sent a lengthy right of reply to Times of Malta, in which he criticises Labour for failing to take action against Calleja Zammit.

“Unfortunately, the party took no action against this councillor for perjuring himself but suggested that we find a solution between us. As this case clearly shows, certain persons will never stop if no proper action is taken against them.

“No one can blame me for not trusting this councillor any longer,” Borg Manche said.

According to Borg Manche, Calleja Zammit had presented an affidavit to Labour officials, claiming that the Gżira mayor had unilaterally decided to appeal the decision to relocate a petrol station to a public garden.

Borg Manche said the claim in the affidavit is a “blatant lie”.

Calleja Zammit had also taken aim at the mayor for failing to answer his questions about the purchase of camera equipment by the local council, the council’s plans for the elderly in the area and the mayor’s role as editor of a new council magazine.

The Labour councillor expressed his concerns that the magazine would be used as a platform by the mayor to promote himself.

Hitting back, Borg Manche argued that residents have the right to know what is happening in their locality, and the council has an obligation to keep them updated.

“Also, all councillors are given the opportunity to write their articles according to the responsibilities assigned,” he said.

“I explained several times that I want this publication to be as balanced as possible and that I will not permit any partisan politics in it.”

He added that he wanted the magazine to be “purely informative as opposed to what used to happen in publications in past administrations where in some instances, Labour councillors were ridiculed."