PN MP Toni Bezzina has lost two libel case he filed against l-orizzont editor Josef Caruana and former PL Deputy Leader Toni Abela, over articles relating to works that occurred at the Zurrieq PN party club, by government workers in the last administration.

The reports in question were published in May 2012. PN MP Bezzina filed the case, saying the article was libellous and defamatory.

In one of the articles, the Maltese newspaper stated that, according to an inquiry, Toni Bezzina had asked government workers in the last administration to sign an affidavit stating that they didn’t do any work on the PN club, “when in fact they did”. The article also alleged that the work took place during working hours.

The court said that just a few days before the 2012 local council elections,  Toni Bezzina knew that works needed to be done on the Zurrieq club and he asked  the foreman of the public works department, Joseph Borda to find him some workers from within the department who would be ready to go and paint the Zurrieq club, after working hours.

“It results that Borda then told him he found three persons, and Mr Bezzina made the necessary arrangements for these workers to undertake the work requested”.

The Court said that, according to Bezzina, when Bezzina asked Borda how much the workers wanted to be paid, he said that the workers were not charging him.

An inquiry within the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs then took place.

One of the workers, Charles Curmi said he was approached by Mr Borda and was asked to take two other workers with him in the afternoon to do some work for “the architect” and that they were not to use the work van. He was to call Borda when they were close to Zurrieq.

He testified that the job took three days, always in the afternoon.

He said that when the story became public, Borda pushed him to sign a document he didn’t agree with as the document read that the workers undertook the job at the PN club voluntarily, yet he said he went there because Borda told him to. He eventually signed the document.

The workers argued that their work day ended at around 16.30 as they were still on their winter schedule, and contrary to what Toni Bezzina said, argued that the work at the PN club did occur during work hours. 

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale ruled in favour of Josef Caruana and Toni Abela.

PL challenges Busuttil to act 

In a press conference this afternoon, the Labour Party said PN Leader Simon Busuttil had to decide on what action he would take against Mr Bezzina.

Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, who said he was addressing the press conference as a PL activist and said he was invited to speak, said Dr Busuttil frequently spoke about good governance but has failed to act after the court sentence was published.

He went over the facts of the case, noting that one of the workers had denied his original statement and claimed he had been forced to sign the affidavit. “We are not speaking about allegations now but about proven facts. These works were carried out by government workers just before the local council elections.”

Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi, who contested the PL deputy leadership election, said the court judgement belied repeated statements by Toni Bezzina. “There is a big difference between what Busuttil preaches and how he actually acts.”

Newly-elected PL Deputy Leader for Party Affairs Chris Cardona said Dr Busuttil had to decide what his course of action against the PN MP would be. “Busuttil had claimed the story was a case of mudslinging but it has been proven in a court now. He now has to accept that his MP lied. Dr Busuttil said he would sack any PN official in the space of a minute if there was as much as a whiff of corruption. Well this is much more than a whiff.”

Dr Cardona said the PN Leader was styling himself as  a “paladin of good governance” but had not taken any action yet. “This is another test. We believe Dr Busuttil is destined to fail this test because he is weak whenever a case involves those who are close to him.”

Referring to the Opposition Leader as “Mr No Standards,” Dr Cardona said Simon Busuttil had a lot of questions to answer. Would he stand by Toni Bezzina now that it has been proven that the MP made false declarations and used public workers for partisan works?

“Our forecast is that he will not act.” Asked what he would do in Dr Busuttil’s place, Dr Cardona said he would censure the PN MP’s actions.  

PN reacts

In a statement, the PN accused Dr Cardona of confrontational politics, and highlighted an excerpt which read that one of the workers in question said that the affidavit he signed regarding the work he did in 2012 was written at the PL headquarters. The PN asked Cardona to explain who summoned the workers to the PL headquarters, and why.

"The PL should explain how and why a declaration linked to a civil case was drafted and signed at the PL headquarters".