Charles Grabuhagiar
Charles Buhagiar
So it turns out that Labour MP and shadow minister Charles Buhagiar has received 70,000 euros from Mosta’s local council, which is Labour.
Then the Opposition has the brass neck to kick up a fuss about paltry sums paid by the government to consultants for actual services rendered.
This is just so typically Charles Buhagiar.
Incidentally, didn’t Michelle Muscat work for Charles Buhagiar at some point? And wasn’t he – along with George ‘Eyebrows’ Vella – one of the two Chosen Ones who accompanied the Labour leader, his wife and twins on that popintless trip to Australia a year or so ago?
From MaltaRightNow:
Il-kunsill laburista tal-Mosta ħallas €70,000 lid-Deputat Laburista Charles Buhagiar
Minkejja li sostna kemm il-darba li ma ngħatax biżżejjed flus
15 ta’ Frar, 2012 15:49 CET
Il-Kunsill Lokali Laburista tal-Mosta, immexxi mis-Sindku Paul Chetcuti Caruana, li l-mexxej Laburista Joseph Muscat issa ammetta l-falliment tiegħu, insista kemm il-darba li ma ngħatax biżżejjed flus mill-Gvern biex jagħmel il-proġetti.
Iżda jirriżulta fost l-oħrajn, li f’temp ta’ sentejn, il-Kunsill sab kwazi €70,000 biex iħallas lill-perit tiegħu, li mhu ħadd ħlief id-deputat Laburista Charles Buhagiar.
Minn tweġiba għal mistoqsijijiet parlamentari li saru fl-aħħar ġimgħat, jirriżulta li l-Perit Buhagiar tħallas €21,404 fl-2009, u €45,729 fl-2010 mill-kunsill b’maġġoranza Laburista.
Minkejja li d-Deputat Laburista, l-Perit Buhagiar tħallas din is-somma, mhuwiex ċar għalfejn saru dawn il-pagamenti, u xi proġetti mmaterjalizzaw bil-pariri tiegħu.
Diversi residenti tal-Mosta stagħġbu kif ingħatat din is-somma kbira lid-Deputat Laburista meta fil-Mosta ftit li xejn saru proġetti, għajr xi xogħol żgħir fuq toroq.
Din l-aħbar mhix l-unika waħda li spikkat fl-aħħar jiem b’rabta mat-tmexxija laburista ta’ dan il-kunsill. Kif żvela il-ġurnal in-Nazzjon, f’każ ieħor ukoll marbut ma’ flus, il-Mostin qed ikollhom iħallsu €50 kuljum, jew €350 fil-ġimgħa biex tinżamm miftuħa l-latrina pubblika li hemm fil-pjazza tal-Mosta.
U agħar minn hekk, dawn il-flus qed imorru biex jitħallas kuntrattur li hu kandidat laburista għall-elezzjoni li se ssir fl-istess lokali fl-10 ta’ Marzu li ġej.
Dan il-kandidat, Charles Vella, ingħata l-kuntratt b’direct order, wara li minħabba t-taħwid bejn is-sindku u l-kunsillieri laburisti fil-Mosta, baqa’ ma nħatarx kumitat ta’ aġġudikazzjoni li seta’ jagħti t-tender biex titmexxa din il-latrina.
U dan wassal biex il-kuntratt ta’ €4,000 ingħata b’direct order lill-kandidat Laburista. Issa d-Dipartiment tal-Kunsilli Lokali ordna li dan il-kuntratt jiġi mitmum.
Il-Partit Nazzjonalista ilu juri t-thassib tiegħu għat-taħwid fil-Kunsill Laburista tal-Mosta. Il-PN qed jisħaq li Joseph Muscat, minkejja li kien jaf b’dan it-taħwid kollu, li għalih qed iħallsu bil-għoli r-residenti Mostin, ħalla l-Kunsill jgħaffeġ.
U kien biss issa, ftit ġimgħat qabel l-elezzjoni tal-Kunsilli Lokali, li ħabbar li s-Sindku tiegħu Paul Chetcuti Caruana u l-Viċi Sindku Josette Agius Decelis mhux se jerġgħu jikkontestaw l-elezzjoni tal-kunsill.
Fl-aħħar jiem pruvajna kemm il-darba nieħdu l-kummenti tal-mexxej Laburista dwar il-Kunsill Lokali tal-Mosta, iżda Joseph Muscat dejjem biddel is-suġġett jew ma weġibx.
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Can you just imagine what is coming our way when they take over in a year’s time?
Move over Lorry Sant. New Labour (moderate and progressive) is already right in our faces.
Why am I not surprised? It’s the usual fare, “għall-Laburisti biss” so reminiscent of Debono Grech and bella compagnia during the reign of terror. Shameful. This is just a taster of what will happen when the PL comes to power. I cannot help but quote a very mediaeval poem here:
“Gaye, gaye, gaye,
Think of dredeful domesdaye”
Did the Mayans predict this doomsday, perhaps? You know the MLP/PL bandwagon think they are the “ombelico del mondo”.
To be fair with Labour, we were warned that after joining the EU we would be inundated with Sicilians. This one seems to be coming straight from Corleone.
Din is-somma barra l-onorarja? Dan ghaliex jista u l-ministri le? Ghandek xi risposta, Daphne, ghax jien kurjuz hafna?
Din tal-onorarja min-naħa tal-Labour ma kienet xejn ħlief opportuniżmu, jgħidu kemm jgħidu li qalbhom taħraqhom għas-sensitività tal-poplu.
Ir-records tal-parlament juru li huma kienu jafu biha, u mhux kif qalu li saret bil-moħbi. Mhux biss kienu jafu, imma kienu qed jiġru wara l-Prim Ministru biex jgħaġġel jimplimentaha.
F’mument minnhom indunaw li din kienet opportunità biex isawwtu l-gvern biha għax ma kienitx saret proċedura normali mill-parlament u ħarġu jgħajjtu li l-gvern għamilha “bil-moħbi”.
Naturalment ma jistgħux jgħidu li ma jaqblux magħha. L-ebda buffu “mill-aqwa kabinet li qatt rat Malta” m’hu ser jarmi l-professjoni tiegħu biex imur ma Joseph fuq salarju tal-karawett (kif imqabbel ma xi jdaħħlu mill-professjoni).
Ghalhekk ghandu hafna kandidati ta’ l-fuq minn sittin sena. Pensjonanti u sabu passatemp gdid u fl-istess hin jibqghu jaqilghu xi haga.
…and the racket continues on both sides of the fence.
One must also take into consideration the multitude of jobs created in the pubic sector under the disguise of a string of authorities to keep the blue-eyed boys, usually sons of the party faithful (happy).
Lest one forget the numerous consultancy positions and chairmanships handed out to retired personnel from within governments or ministries to continue creaming off a healthy income from the public coffers. This is what the taxpayer has to deal with and while we strive to remain afloat and make ends meet in times of recession, these privileged few enjoy exorbitant salaries, endless benefits and play musical chairmanships in different departments.
Such a sad country!
When saying that, I assume that you have other countries in mind where these things do not happen.
Would you care to mention a few?
The future minister for Public Works.
Smajt fuq ir-radio dwar din l-storja, pero, mnalla tkun int, Daphne. Nies bhalek ghanda bzonn Malta biex tohrog il-verita.
Nametti li-kunsilli Nazzjonalisti ghamlu tbazwir ukoll, imma kunsilli Laburisti! Ommi Ma. Tal-ghageb. Imbaghad tisma s-Super One u hejj, dawn ma jidru mkien. Tal-misthija! Mhumiex capaci jmexxu kunsill lokali, ahseb w`ara pajjiz.
PL have long been planning to get rid of the man, and this seems like a VERY good opportunity.
Staqsi lil Charles Buhagiar kemm ha mil-kunsill tar-Rabat f’dawn l-ahhar snin. Jiena smajt b’ aktar minn din ic-cifra.
Jigifieri kien qed ipappiha mill-kunsill tar-Rabat ukoll?
Jekk din mhix korruzzjoni x’inhi?
6,000 euros a month – a paltry sum? You really are disconnected from reality.
[Daphne – I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Please be more specific. And after you’ve been more specific, work out the pro rata for Charles Buhagiar’s fee of 70,000 euros.]
Arthur Apap, employed with Minister George Pullicino since January with a four month contract with the remuneration being that of 6,000 euros monthly.
Charles Buhagiar – 70,000 over two years; 2950 euro a month with 18% of that being VAT (the actual monthly fee is that of 2500 Euro).
[Daphne – You’re very well-informed about the Charles Buhagiar details. Perhaps you could tell us what the work actually involved?]
Well-informed? All I did was divide the 70,000 between two years and deduce the VAT.
[Daphne – Fees are usually quoted ex VAT. You cannot conclude that this was a monthly retainer. He may have simply done two or three jobs over two years.]
As if councils need an architect ‘once or twice a year’. Imagine the whole of Mosta needing the services of an architect for ‘once and twice’ a year. And yes, fees are usually quoted ex VAT, quoted that is. The article mentions fees paid, not fees quoted.
[Daphne – Yes, Richard, FEES paid, not fees plus VAT paid. VAT is not fees. Fees are not VAT. And yes, councils are more likely to need an architect once or twice a year than have one on retainer, unless they are even more corrupt than first thought. Stop trying to justify the unjustifiable. This is the future Public Works minister we are talking about, not any old architect.]
Richard, are you saying that €2950 monthly payments from one single contract are peanuts for an architect?
By any chance would you expect him to heftily lower his income when he becomes minister in one year’s time?
If your answer is in the affirmative than I’m missing something.
Dear Daphne,
I was thinking lately how petty our life is, to be so wasting so much time discussing what Charles Buhagiar got, and what Alfred Sant didn’t, and what Joseph’s wife bought. I mean, is this really the exciting life we dreamt to live when we were younger? Nailed down to this little island, far away from the neon lights that charged our youth or the vast countrysides that tickled our imagination, we have become just like those we felt so sorry for in our youth – spending our days discussing what a someone named Charles Buhagiar got from the Mosta Local Council.
I’m sorry for us.
Peter
[Daphne – Oh I wouldn’t worry, Peter. All the world is of a piece. I was reading the London Evening Standard last night and one of the main stories was about the mayor of Tower Hamlets, who engaged a consultant by direct order on a fee of a thousand pounds a day. The story carried quotes from Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who thought the fee excessive and promised an investigation. And this is London, not Mosta. At our sort of age, it is detachment and not involvement or engagement which are causes for concern. What you describe is the detachment of youth. People who still think like that beyond 25 have a problem.]
I am a local councillor in Mosta. In my view of this situation, a serious politician would have refrained from EVEN tendering for the work required or services rendered to our local council, let alone work for the council through direct orders.
Serious politicians would make sure not to have conflict of interest and/or anything that may jeapordise their integrity, their own and the party they represent.
The news reporters must stay vigilant all the time. They must chase every rumor and investigate thoroughly. Bad publicity can act as a deterrent.
Is the media demanding an interview with Charles Buhagar? As a public figure does he plan to explain to the taxpayers why he received all these monies from Rabat and Mosta councils? Can he account for all the work he did?
No wonder Charles Buhagiar won’t be needing the ministerial salary increase.
Is it The Times or Malta today who’s right? Two times or three?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120216/local/burglar-strikes-at-same-house-twice.407105
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/Burglar-empties-house-for-third-time-20120216
Dawh huma it-terremoti, l-arma l-gdida. partit gdid u anqas naf aktar x’qal Joseph Muscat meta lahaq kap! Taf x’nesa jsemmi li bla korruzzjoni!
Imma xorta b’qajna, u jmissu jisthi bhala kap GDID li suppost ma’ ghandu hbiberiji u kunfidenzi ma’ hadd, li ma’ kkontrollax sitwazzjoni bhal din go lokalita’. Imsieken in-nies tal-Mosta.
Dan Charles Buhagiar kien Ministru u issa Joseph Muscat ghandu l-provi fl’iema tip ta’ tahwid huwa mdahhal u allura jekk hu serju Joseph Muscat ghandu jkeccieh mill-partit.
Dawn huma il-hbieb tal-hbieb!
Joseph Muscat, apparti li m’ghandux abilta’ ta’ Kap ghandu problema li gaba fuqu hu stess, billi dawwar lilu n-nifsu fil-PL b’nies li ilhom jimmilitaw fil-partit u minflok qed jikkmanda hu qed jikmandaw lilu. Ma’ kienx kapaci jikkontrolla Sindku ta’ lokalita, ahseb u ara kemm se jikkontrolla il-pajjiz.
Il-Partit Laburista partit korrott u jigri x’jigri hekk jibqaw ghax lil certi nies ma’ jistghux ikeccuhom, anzi min jitlaq jergghu igibuh lura.
Dan iehor li se jkun fl-aqwa Kabinet li qatt rat Malta Dr. Joseph Muscat? Ghandek erba’ min-nies sew ukoll!
Nahseb lil Dr. Manuel Mallia ghalek laqtu Joseph Muscat, ghax ihalli l-korruzzjoni ghadejja.
The more they change, the more they stay the same.
Yesterday evening, a long-time friend of almost 50, who has supported Labour all his life and watches nothing but Super One, was talking to me about a brief conversation he had earlier today with another person he knew years back.
The chat was about a garage/garden appliance – it was that mundane and absolutely non-political.
However in his mention of the other person involved, to set the scene, my friend added, ‘dak niftakkru meta kien assistent ta’Lorry Sant’.
The strange thing was that, even though we were standing literally alone in a room with nobody else anywhere in sight, the last three words of that sentence petered out to a whisper, accompanied by a furtive side-to-side glance.
Why? Sant has been dead, what, 20 years now? Labour (barring that one Alfred Sant blip) has been in opposition for nigh on 25 years.
So why do even Labour supporters still tend to talk about those days in that way? Denial maybe, or an underlying acceptance/knowledge of what really was the status quo back then?
Saqsuh kemm ha taht in-Nazzjonalisti ghal progetti f’Ghawdex, dan l-ahhar.
Ghandu wicc igerger.
Some PoLitical mathematics:
Notary CHARLES Mangion + Professor Louis BUHAGIAR = Perit CHARLES BUHAGIAR
Notary CHARLES Mangion://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2006/01/15/editorial.html
Professor Louis BUHAGIAR
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120201/local/hospital-administrator-claims-doctor-overcharged-for-his-services.404844
When I see his face, I am reminded of communists. Baxxter, why is that?
Bland, expressionless fat cat with cynical eyelids.
Elementary, my dear Ciccio.
Google Peppone from Don Camillo,
He looks like Ned Flanders from the Simpsons.
It is a common knowledge that thanks to the disinterested taxpayers Charles Buhagiar has become millionaire for the mysterious work done for councils lead by Labour majority.
When I am going to hear that Buhagiar is being criminally investigated?
Daphne, mela ma tafx li dan huwa l-aqwa perit fil-Labour Party? Hafna kunsilli qabduh biex jahdmilhom.
Taht Gvern Nazzjonalista u ghandhom il-wicc tost jghidu m’hemmx jimbidel il-gvern ha jgawdi kulhadd.
Poor Perit Buhagiar, with a couple of councils like the one of Mosta approx €50,000 a year, a few other lesser projects say 10 x €20,000 a year and the odd small job say 40 x €2,500, a conservative €30,000 monthly, how will he survive on his measly ministerial salary come 2013? Miskin, they do it for the greater good tafux.
I just cannot understand how low people’s standards can get: it is acceptable for an opposition MP to earn €30,000 average per annum from ONE single local council and at the same time cannot accept a FULL TIME Minister like George Pullicino to earn around €65,000 per annum to run a sector of our country.
These same people would label that as an “indecent wage rise”.
I wonder what they would think when Buhagiar becomes minister and accepts the ‘measly’ salary Pullicino is now earning while closing his business ties with his private practice.
No wonder Joseph did absolutely nothing about the disgrace of a Mosta Council for the last three years.
Why deny comrade Buhagiar the tidy sum of 70,000 euros?
An interview with some Mostin all complained about the dismal performance of their council and cannot understand for what the architect was paid the huge amount since nothing appears to have been done for a long time.
Now, that the amount is safely in its intended recipient’s bank account, Joseph wakes up and ‘announces a 700,000 euro project for Mosta residents’.
He actually believes he is the prime minister.
In the interest of democracy it is equally bad if our institutions continue allowing MP Charles Buhagiar get away with this kind of behaviour.
His mysterious unaccounted-for work for the Rabat and Mosta councils and his conflict of interest at the very least warrant an urgent investigation.
Looking the other way is what makes people believe that corruption is rampant in Malta and not just our judiciary system.
Just disgusted.
There has been some talk lately about the reduction of noise pollution. Please lower the volume further or some journalist might do the unthinkable, wake up and investigate. Heaven forbid!