Former Voice of the Mediterranean managing director Richard Muscat categorically denied that he ever spent any public money on himself and said he had even paid cheques out of his own account to settle bills that were needed for the running of the station.

During questioning at the Public Accounts Committee meeting yesterday, Mr Muscat appeared calm and collected and refused to buckle as he calmly answered questions from both sides of the committee.

The session got off to a stormy start when Minister Austin Gatt objected to the presence of a ONE News cameraman during the session. This was countered by PAC chairman Charles Mangion who said that the One News cameraman had been given permission to film the first part of the session. Dr Gatt said that he would be ordering the arrest of the cameraman if he did not stop filming and he presented a motion to this effect, which was rejected by the chair. The PAC finally came to a compromise when it was agreed that the film would not be edited by ONE News.

Two affidavits were then presented in which Richmond Foundation chief executive Anthony Guillaimier stating that the value of the furniture donated by VOM did not exceed Lm175. The second affidavit dealt with a statement by Charles Mifsud who informed the PAC that employees at VOM were employed on individual contracts and there was no collective agreement.

A further two affidavits were presented by John Burlo’ from the National Audit Office and Alfred Zarb, a former VOM councillor who clarified certain statements that were erroneously made in last Thursday’s session.

In reply to a question from Dr Mangion, Mr Muscat explained that his terms of reference included him being answerable to the Board of Councillors, the production of current affairs programmes, interaction with Maltese communities abroad and the maintenance of professionalism in news content, apart from other matters such as management and financial administration.

He said that his salary was pegged to Scale 4 of the Civil Service, and he had the use of a company car, a fuel allowance of Lm15 per week and the relevant Cost of Living allowance, apart from a hospitality allowance of Lm700 annually.

Mr Muscat also confirmed that he was part of the internal committee within the MFA for the administration of Voice of the Mediterranean. He also confirmed that he had no problem with applying government financial regulations to VOM but added that he had never received a directive to do so.

Questioned by Dr Gatt, Mr Muscat said that he had never been ordered to follow either government financial regulations or the corresponding employment regulations, by the board, the MFA or the Permanent Secretary. Regarding the contract for internet services, he said that as soon as he joined the station the current contract with Maltamedia was due to expire, adding that he was also briefed to digitise the station.

Mr Muscat said that he had reached an agreement with a company called SoleTrader administered by Tony Cassar and was impressed by the quality of service that this company provided. He said that the business plan proposed by Mr Cassar for a new website was eventually approved by the two Maltese VOM councillors and their substitutes.

Mr Muscat said that between April 2001 and May 2002, VOM received three payments totaling Lm500,000 from the Libyan government. He said that the Libyans were enthusiastic about the internet plan and had even offered to finance the relative expenditure.

In January 2002, said Mr Muscat, he received an evacuation order from Mepa who wanted the VOM premises for their use and that this had created a difficult situation. He said that he had written to the Prime Minister to explain the situation, adding that the station was going through an extensive refurbishment programme.

Pressed by Dr Mangion, Mr Muscat said that the second IT contract for Lm36,000 had included extensive new services when compared to the first one of Lm11,000. This included many more man hours and services which changed considerably when VOM moved to Birkirkara, he added.

Mr John Burlo’ from the NAO confirmed that both contracts were essentially similar to each other and this had even been confirmed by Mr Cassar, when questioned. At this point, Mr Muscat was observed mopping his brow as it appeared that the pressure was beginning to tell.

Dr Gatt asked how many servers were present in Floriana and Birkirkara but Mr Burlo’ said he was not sufficiently qualified to reply. Mr Burlo’ said that Mr Cassar told him that he had been paid for extra tasks within the parameters of the second contract.

Mr Muscat said that the NAO report had not correctly interpreted the differences between the two IT contracts.

He said that Mr Cassar had employed his son (Mr Muscat’s) of his own accord and never under any pressure on his part. He said that he had complete blind faith in Mr Cassar and his son who was at that time employed with Cyberspace Solutions (Mr Cassar’s company) and had access to the station practically 24 hours a day.

Labour MP Leo Brincat asked Mr Muscat how he had responded to the several allegations of financial impropriety that were made in the NAO’s report.

Replying, Mr Muscat said that he applied all systems of administration control that were previously used at the premises. Former VOM councillor Alfred Zarb said that the internal MFA committee had agreed that government financial regulations should be applied regarding finance and employment procedures.

Mr Zarb said that at least three quotations should have been obtained before the purchase of equipment for VOM, with Mr Muscat stating that he was pressed for time to purchase such equipment. Mr Zarb said that he had disagreed with this action during a meeting held at the Phoenicia Hotel on 27 January 2003.

Questioned by Dr Gatt, Mr Zarb said that he had regularly proposed applying government financial regulations to procurement and employment procedures from the time he was appointed as councillor in 1988. He also confirmed that the audited accounts never included any management letter and that he had never recommended the use of public procurement procedures in writing.

Questioned by Mr Brincat, Mr Muscat said that he could not confirm the total amount of direct orders made during his tenure. An NAO official confirmed that the amount was around Lm250,000.

He said that it was not the company’s practice to attach invoices to the purchase order, adding that he categorically denied ever exceeding his personal expenses allowances, and many times had paid company bills out of his own account.

At one point, Mr Muscat said that if he were to sue anyone for all the allegations that had been made against him, he would spend all his time in court. Permanent Secretary Cecilia Attard Pirotta said that there had no been effort to reclaim the excess hospitality expenses claimed by Mr Muscat.

Questioned by Ms Helena Dalli about the excessive price of the cars purchased by the company, Mr Muscat said that these were cars powered by diesel engines and that these vehicles cost more. He said that he had found the contract of the car purchased by the Libyan Deputy Chairman on his desk after returning from abroad and he had gone to the councillors as he was worried about the excess expenditure.

He said that he was not aware that the station’s accountant had asked for terminal benefits, adding that it was the Foreign Affairs Ministry that had approved these benefits. He said that the collective agreement had expired and a new one had been negotiated but remained unsigned due to some employees objecting to the new working conditions.

Mr Muscat said that the union members had eventually resigned their membership and had accepted individual working contracts.