I refer to the report (TMID, 11 July) wherein it is reported that “Labour Leader Alfred Sant claimed that the Nationalist Government had refused to publish the findings of the inquiries into the operations of Malta Centre for Restoration director Joe Cannataci, after European Union funds were allegedly used to finance salaries, allowances, travel expenses and first-class hotels”.

Your newspaper goes on to report, “Speaking in Tarxien yesterday, Dr Sant said EU officials in Brussels were questioning how these funds, which were meant to be used to improve the restoration centre, had instead been used for salaries, allowances and travel”.

The undersigned was chairman of the Board of Governors of the Malta Centre for Restoration. (MCR) and project director for the EU-funded IKONOS project until 22 March 2005 when the amendment to the Cultural Heritage Act introduced a new Board of Governors at MCR.

This is to categorically state that during my term of office neither MCR nor IKONOS were awarded any EU funds to carry out “restoration works” nor “funds to improve the restoration centre” of any sort or description. It is, therefore, impossible for such funds to have been re-allocated as alleged by Dr Sant.

The IKONOS project dealt with research on distance learning, the establishment of common standards and database creation. Another EU-funded project, PROMET, also awarded to the Centre during my term of office, dealt with research into conservation of metals.

For the duration of my term of office there was absolutely no question of funds earmarked for one purpose being used instead for project wages, allowances and travelling expenses, which are however deliberately and specifically provided for within specific project budgets.

The expenditure of all funds under all headings of expenditure was very carefully controlled by the Centre’s Senior Management Team and monitored on a monthly basis by the Board of Governors to ensure that this was the case. Insofar as EU projects are concerned the last independent audits carried out for the IKONOS project drawn up during my term of office and presented to the European Commission at various stages up to December 2004, showed that the project was within budget.

The project was deemed to be successful and promising enough to be granted two extensions, first in December 2004 and then in March 2005 in accordance with which the project should close in December 2005. Dr Sant should be familiar enough with EU procedures to know that such extension would not have been granted had the multiple independent audit reports and budgets submitted not been in order.

Indeed, contrary to Dr Sant’s allegations, the IKONOS project team, which had project funds specifically earmarked for travel and had cut down travel for meetings thanks to video-conferencing was then actually encouraged by the EU’s Regional Management Support Unit to hold more face-to-face meetings, involving more travel rather than less. The PROMET project was not far enough advanced to have completed its first financial year and hence subject to financial audit but I have full confidence in the professional manner in which that project was handled by the members of MCR’s management who were then responsible for PROMET. During my term of office there was no question of PROMET funds allocated for one purpose being utilised for another.

Your report states that “Dr Sant said the government had commissioned a number of inquiries, the results of which it now refused to publish”. At no point during my term of office, nor indeed afterwards, was I informed of any “inquiry” as to the misuse of EU funds or anything else regarding the management of the Centre. Following the announcement in November 2004 of government’s policy decision to merge MCR and Heritage Malta, the Management Efficiency Unit was given a brief to carry out an audit to establish how the merger could be best achieved, which exercise was carried out in February-March 2005. At no moment in time was the undersigned or the Board of Governors ever advised that this exercise had revealed any wrong-doing or mismanagement.

In the light of the above I hereby invite Dr Sant to retract his statements forthwith, and your newspaper to give equal prominence to such retraction, in default of which I will have no option except to institute legal proceedings as may be appropriate.

Dr Joseph Cannataci

Tal-Qroqq