Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg, tasked with hosting Europride in Malta next month, is refusing to give details on the hundreds of thousands of taxpayer funds already spent on the event.
The government is earmarking a €2.5 million budget for the international event, but details on its administration are scarce.
Sources close to the organisation of this week-long “diversity party” told The Shift that the government is dishing out funds to very few event organisers, and public procurement rules are being completely ignored.
The Labour Party has a track record of using grand-scale events, such as the Malta Film Awards, to boost the Party’s profile.
According to the same sources, a company called Greaat, owned by former PN mass events organisers Anton Attard and Mark Grech, the latter a former MZPN President, better known as Guru, have been tasked by Buttigieg to take care of most of the organisation.
Even a dedicated website set up for this event was produced by Sour Punch Ltd – a subsidiary of Greaat, together with another shareholder, Kimberly Lowell.
It is as yet unclear whether the Attard-Grech tandem has been selected through a public tender.
The two are known to have good connections with Luke Dalli, the Labour presenter and son of EU Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli, who pushed hard for this event to be held in Malta.
The chief of staff of the Parliamentary Secretary is Carmen Sammut – the wife of PBS Executive Chair Mark Sammut, where Attard and Grech have been producing TV programmes, including X-Factor.
The Home Affairs Ministry, in which Buttigieg is a Parliamentary Secretary, did not reply to questions for an official breakdown on how much of the €2.5 million budget has been spent so far, whether any tenders have been published, who won and who received direct orders.
Instead, a spokesman just said that so far, a total of €574,000 have already been spent in deposits, mostly €521,095 on music performances to be held during the LGBTIQ+ Malta week.
Festival being used to boost profile of Buttigieg and Dalli
Government sources have told The Shift that the international festival to be held in Malta is being used by both Rebecca Buttigieg and Helena Dalli to boost their personal profile.
Buttigieg, a newcomer who was only elected to parliament through the gender mechanism, was immediately given a junior minister post by Robert Abela and made responsible for reforms and equality.
However, despite the controversial issues surrounding her portfolio, including legislation on cannabis growing, she has made little to no impact so far.
On her part, Dalli, given the least prestigious of portfolios as a Maltese commissioner since Malta joined the EU in 2004, is making every effort to be seen as the champion of gay rights among her counterparts.
While on an EU level, Dalli exerted no real power and was not even any directorate-general (ministry) within the European Commission, she wants to use the event in Malta as some ‘triumph’ as her five-year term as EU Commissioner is soon ending.
With Buttigieg, Dalli will be presiding over the major events in September’s Europride.
Nisperaw li hasbu ghal xi ftit generators……ghal li jista jkun ta!!!
Buttigieg is using this event as a PR exercise, nothing more, nothing less. And knowing the likes of this Carmen Sammut, who happens to be the wife of the CEO of PBS (a staunch nationalist until few years ago) and well connected to John Dalli, says a lot. The links with Anton Attard speak volumes. I am informed that she has highjacked this event by keeping total control over contracts and procurement, where everything should go as she states to the detriment of the civil service. So, if Rebecca is using this event to try to attract the attention of the PM, forsi jagħmilha Ministru miskina, what is this Carmen Sammut using this event for, by orchestrating the whole procurement process? One day the shit will hit the fan.
Hela ta’flus il-poplu.
Ahjar tahsbu fin-nies tal-korpi mhux insejtuhom.
A typical example why pharmacies are not paid for vital cancer patients’ medication.
The government spends millions on frivolities rather than on much more important and life saving medication.
Needless to say that at the end, the sum will be higher than € 2.5 million.
We make history if the national debt is curtailed.
Ghada kemm twieldet dis sinjura Buttigieg diga mohha kif sejra idawwar xi lira zejda. Mhux ser naghtija tort ghax shaba xebghu jithanzru izda binti ghadek tibda id dinja u ghandek futur quddiemek, ibza ghalih.
Id dinja ma saretx f daqqa
U lil puttinu care iriedu jigru il flus biex jghinu lil marid ,
L engheb qares sure delia.skond int lanqas min huwa Nazzjonalista maghndu dritt jahdem. L ghira it il gennn.ara inti hawwadt kemm ridt meta kont qed tidddilja fuq l arriva.imma inti tista,haddiehor ma jistax
2.5 million… What a waste of money, which could have been spent on better electricity service. Talking about electricity how much of that is going to be used up from the tax payers money and does that mean the rest of us will be in the dark?
While the President is saying that requests for help from the Community Chest Fund has blown up to €20 MILLION.
L-atturi ewlenin fl-industrija tal-avvenimenti jitolbu lin-nies biex jaħdmu b’xejn taħt l-iskuża ta ‘”espożizzjoni” kollha waqt li jdaħħlu l-flus fil-but.