The Partit Nazzjonalista councillors for Valletta, Ylenia Montfort, Roberta Bonello Felice, and Vince Fabri, said that the mayor's annulment of a contract for the restoration of the facade of St Paul's Shipwreck Parish Church is "unacceptable".

This contract was approved and granted for work to commence during the meeting held on 6 August 2024, the PN councillors said in a statement Monday.

That day, the Local Council unanimously approved the Selection Board's report. Following this approval, the Local Council administration was duty-bound to move the process forward by informing all tenderers of the Council's decision and initiating the appeal period. It seems that without the knowledge of some Local Council members, this process was not triggered, and the same contract was brought back for discussion at the next meeting, held on 3 September, the councillors said.

In the meantime, between the meeting held on 6 August and the one on the 3 September, the councillors requested an urgent meeting, but this request was ignored by the Labour mayor, Olaf McKay.

The Local Council's lawyer was also present at the 3rd September meeting. After giving his advice on a technical point, advice that the majority of the Local Council disagreed with, the Nationalist councillors asked for several clarifications which remained unanswered.

At this stage, the Mayor declared that he alone had the right to annul the contract on the basis that he is the Mayor. Amid many arguments between the councillors, the mayor stated that he would cancel the contract because he had the authority to do so as mayor, the PN statement said. He also made allegations against one of the PN councillors, which he did not substantiate.

At this point, the Mayor declared that the contract would be annulled, and this was done based solely on his decision, even though it was very clear that the majority of the council members did not agree with this decision. Shortly after, the mayor's decision was already being implemented by the Local Council administration, in stark contrast to the previous Council decision, which remained shelved with no action taken on it, the statement said.

The PN councillors claimed that cancellation of this contract was entirely in breach of the law, as decisions within the Council must be made by the majority of councillors, not by one person. Furthermore, the local council administration should only act on the decisions made by the majority of councillors.

Therefore, while expressing their solidarity with the Chapter and parishioners of St. Paul's Shipwreck Parish, the PN councillors for Valletta said that in the coming days they will be taking further steps "in response to these illegalities".