The government has blocked a Freedom of Information request to provide details on Film Commissioner Johann Grech’s spending spree on the Mediterrane Film Festival held last June and estimated to cost taxpayers at least a million euros.
The government has also refused to give details on Grech’s list of invitees to a lavish gala dinner held at Fort Manoel, for which British comedian David Walliams was flown in and paid tens of thousands to conduct the dinner show, together with a raft of foreign artists awarded during the event.
The Shift’s FOI asked the Film Commission to supply documents to account for all spending made for the festival, a list of non-paying guests attending the lavish dinner party and a breakdown of all the contracts issued by Grech for all the services provided during the week-long festival.
The Malta Film Commission was also asked to indicate whether the supply contracts were awarded following public procurement rules or were issued by direct order.
The Commission has turned down all the requests made.
In a terse reply, Commissioner Johann Grech said that he could not give the requested details on his guests for the ‘free-dinner party’, citing data protection. Most of the guests invited to this dinner party had nothing to do with the film industry, including many PL officials and personal friends of the Commissioner.
Regarding the costs of the activities held last June and the list of contractors, Grech also refused to be transparent and accountable, stating that “the requested information is in the process of being published.”
Surprisingly, even though British comedian David Walliams was part and parcel of the gala show with Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, Grech said: “He is not in possession of any invoices for David Walliams.”
Sources have told The Shift the Tourism Ministry issued the funds for the comedian’s exorbitant fees.
The presence of Walliams for a Film Commission activity had already hit the headlines in 2022 as he was reportedly paid over €200,000 from taxpayer’s funds to conduct a Film Awards night organised by Grech at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta in 2022, just before the general elections.
On that occasion, Grech had spent more than €1.3 million for the awards night, mainly through direct orders to suppliers, who, just a few weeks later, supplied the same services to the Labour Party’s electoral campaign.
Grech’s refusal to give the necessary information on his latest taxpayers’ spending spree follows similar stances taken by Minister Clayton Bartolo in parliament.
Asked repeatedly through parliamentary questions to give a detailed breakdown of how taxpayer funds were used for the Mediterrane Festival, Bartolo dodged all questions, replying with the usual postponement reply that “the information would be given in another parliamentary session”.
Bartolo repeated the same answer until parliament rose for its three-month-long summer recess.
MPs will only reconvene in October.
Since becoming Film Commissioner in 2017, the former marketing manager of disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat has built a reputation of spending millions of taxpayer funds without any form of accountability, with the government seeming to be giving him a free hand on funds he dishes out in public contracts.
During his first two years as Commissioner, Grech spent over €600,000 travelling worldwide to attend various film festivals and conduct meetings.
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Once the change in administration takes place in 3 years time, these people must be brought to face justice, jailed and have their cell key thrown into the deepest ditch available…..!
AND MAKE THEM REFUND THEIR ILLICIT GAINS
Change in administration in 3 years’ time…
Are you serious? The PN opposition is literally sleeping at the wheel. They cannot put their house in order and come one with a single proposal!
The only resistance at the moment is a group of fragmented NGOs, individuals, and a few civil society. They are vocal, are spot on, but the fact that these groups are fragmented plays right into the regime’s hand. The mafia state wants to keep them fragmented as the message gets diluted once they try to outshine each other.
Remember that when the NP was elected in May 1987 they made all sorts of compromises with those that had committed earlier murder, violence, corruption, terror. Only 1 was prosecuted, the previous police commissioner LP, and probably as a reaction to the law courts riot by Zejtun thugs in June 1987. I say so so that you realise that you cannot bank on
politicians to ensure justice.
You are correct about how we felt then. But to govern us out the cesspit we were in, that decision was taken in good faith, so I believe. Its a pity that after 25 years the PL is run by crooks who are banking on the same outcome.
For Mr Grech to have such a free-hand, he must know where all the bodies are buried. Otherwise why would the prime minister allow him to spend without any form of control.
M-hemmx kelma ohra- HALLELIN TA FLUS IL-POPLU. KEMM JILAH JISSAPORTI DAN IL-POPLU
Il-poplu ghajjien mejjet. Kieku qam, wera sahhthu u nehha lil dawn il-cancer ta’ Malta minn nofs. Imma issa l-cancer stage 4, ghax it-terapijja tar-ribelljoni ma saritx. L-oppozizzjoni wkoll go koma profonda qieghda u Sandra Gauci tghajjat wahedha fid-dezert, bhal San Gwan. Jekk ma tinbidilx is-sistema ta zewg partiti biss, Malta ha jkomplu jqahhbuha, sal-mewt.
Dawn ser jkomplu jisirqu. Il poplu jrid jqum. Dawn flusna u flus uliedna. Qumu ghjidu issa bizzejed. €450,150, 200, 60 u hafna izjed MILLUNI misruqa. Issa nohorgu self lill gvern ha nisirqu aktar. Dawn lis steps bhad-dittaturi kollha, jistanew u jfaqru l-pajjiez. Kemm ha dumu rieqdin? QUMU WAQFU DAS SERQ