Cleaning work in the offices of Parliamentary Secretary Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici was, at least until the start of this month, being carried out by Special Cleaners Ltd, the company which had been granted a contract to clean the law courts, which contract had later been withdrawn, Labour Party leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.
But, in a statement issued by Dr Mifsud Bonnici yesterday evening, the parliamentary secretary said that it was not true that the Special Cleaners’ contract for the cleaning of the offices was still running earlier this month. This contract had been stopped together with the other contract for the cleaning of the law courts.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici also filed a libel suit against Dr Sant.
During his press conference, Dr Sant said that Special Cleaners, run by the wife and son of inmate Mario Camilleri, had carried out cleaning work at the law courts for two months. The law courts fall under the responsibility of Dr Mifsud Bonnici.
The awarding of the law courts cleaning contract to Special Cleaners was a scandal, Dr Sant said, but fresh information has now made the situation worse.
From information given in Parliament by Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg on 2 November, it resulted that Special Cleaners had been given the job of cleaning Dr Mifsud Bonnici’s offices at the Auberge d’Aragon. Yet, 13 days later, when questioned on TV, Dr Borg said that from investigations carried out it resulted that Special Cleaners did not have any other contracts except for the one at the law courts, Dr Sant said.
The fact that Special Cleaners had been given a contract to clean Dr Mifsud Bonnici’s offices shows a lack of seriousness, the Labour leader said.
“We demand a serious answer to the new facts that are emerging. The Prime Minister should not only give an explanation but should expect Dr Mifsud Bonnici’s resignation. If he does not resign, then he should be dismissed,” Dr Sant said.
Dr Sant also gave details about serious court cases that the owners of Special Cleaners are facing, saying that it is a scandal that the Prime Minister was turning a blind eye on the situation which Dr Sant said “attacked the security of the law court’s administration”.
He recalled that official statements had indicated that when the law courts contract was awarded to Special Cleaners, the government had taken into consideration only the fact that the company had the necessary licence and fulfilled the conditions requested in the call for tenders.
The government had said that Special Cleaners had been asked to hand in a list of employees who had to produce a police record. None of the owners of Special Cleaners was requested to provide a police record, Dr Sant said.
Special Cleaners carried out work at the law courts for two and a half months and the company was stopped only after Labour MP Jose Herrera had submitted a Parliamentary Question.
The government’s reaction to all this is unacceptable, Dr Sant said. Dr Borg had said he had nothing to do with the case because the matter was the responsibility of the law courts, while Dr Mifsud Bonnici had described the issue as a storm in a teacup. When questioned, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had only said “arrivederci”, Dr Sant said.
In his reply, issued through the Department of Information, Dr Mifsud Bonnici categorically denied accusations levelled at him by the Opposition Leader.
He declared that he had never spoken to, never met and never defended Camilleri. In view of Dr Sant’s allegations, Dr Mifsud Bonnici filed a libel suit against the Opposition Leader.