ADPD - The Green Party Chairperson and EP candidate Sandra Gauci has called for an investigation into the allocation of European funds that raise serious suspicions whether these were granted on merit or as a result of political influence and family connections. She was addressing a press conference this morning in Tas-Sliema together with the ADPD Secretary General and EP candidate Dr Ralph Cassar.
ADPD - The Green Party Chairperson and EP candidate Sandra Gauci said that one should not only pay attention to using taxpayers’ money judiciously but that this should also apply to EU funds. This is especially so in the current crisis when many are finding it difficult to cope with cost of living in the face of the energy crisis impacting an entire continent. In these circumstances, cases of suspected abuse are much less tolerated.
Following reports of two serious cases of suspected abuse of EU funds published in the media in a couple of weeks, one realises that profiting without merit in Malta has become institutionalized and accepted as if it were the norm. Favours and nepotism have become a leadership style.
The involvement of the Minister of Agriculture Anton Refalo in the allocation of EU funds for his personal project raises serious concerns about the integrity and responsibility of the government. The revelation that around €270,000 in European funds were given to a company owned by the minister's wife, Michelina Refalo, for the development of a "yoga-meditation" hotel calls for a careful investigation about this matter. The most disturbing aspect of this revelation is the apparent conflict of interest. Despite not being directly associated with the application or the company receiving the funds, Minister Refalo's connection to the property is undeniable, as it is listed in his asset declaration. This raises legitimate questions about whether the funds were awarded on merit or as a result of political influence.
A week later it was also revealed how a company owned by the three children of former MEP Louis Grech was given aid of €450,000 from European funds, Gauci said. The application for these funds was made when Grech was still an MEP and was finalized in 2017. This amount was given when this scheme was controlled by the Maltese government and until now this project is still in its early phases.
We as ADPD are concerned about all this and we ask that a serious investigation be carried out on how these funds were given, and whether there was abuse in the allocation as well as whether insiders and family members were unfairly rewarded. These reasonable suspicions clearly show how far we are still from a country run on merit where everyone has an equal chance depending on their abilities, Gauci concluded.