Valletta’s St Paul’s Parish Archpriest on Thursday morning blasted the capital city’s local council, and its new mayor in particular, for dropping a tender which would have seen the church’s façade restored.

In a statement, Archpriest David Cilia and the Collegiate Chapter of St Paul’s Shipwreck said that they had been informed through third parties that the local council had dropped the tender for the restoration of the Collegiate church’s façade.

“The local council led by Olaf McKay and assisted by Executive Secretary Gabriella Agius with no discussion with the Chapter as a signatory of the agreement with the Planning Authority, again stopped the tender so that this project cannot be done,” the statement read.

This is the second time that the tender for the restoration of the façade has been stopped.

“The Chapter expresses its displeasure that the local council is discriminating against parishioners of the St Paul’s Shipwreck parish with a persistence the likes of which we have never seen,” the chapter said.

It continued that by saying that it is in contact with the government authorities to ensure that “the council’s abuse is not the last word” and said that it was also reserving the right to be paid for any damages that it may suffer.

The Valletta local council is currently led by a Labour Party majority, with Olaf McKay being elected as the mayor during June’s local council elections.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, McKay said that he had decided to suspend the local council meeting held that day in order for the local council’s lawyer to “inform all of the councillors in a technical and open manner.”

He said that the local council has the authority, responsibility and obligation to ensure that all processes are done in a transparent manner and in accordance with the requisites of good governance.

“Whoever knows me knows that I have always worked in line with the principles of good governance and that I respect everybody’s opinion, and that’s what I will continue to do,” the mayor said.

 

“I will not accept any behaviour simply because I want things to be done according to the rules and without abuse,” he said.

McKay’s predecessor Alfred Zammit, who was elected on the Labour Party ticket in June as a councillor, said that he was against the decision for the tender to be scrapped and said that he had left the last council meeting out of protest.

The Nationalist Party meanwhile said through its media house that its two local councillors remained committed for the restoration project to be done and had at no point voted against the scrapping of the tender.