Cachia Caruana denies Karmenu Vella claims on 1996 meeting
timesofmalta.com reports now:
Cachia Caruana denies Karmenu Vella claims on 1996 meeting
Former Labour Tourism Minister Karmenu Vella described today how in 1996 Richard Cachia Caruana, then a director of Air Malta, met him and told him he disagreed with the other members of the board when they decided that the airline should buy RJ70 aircraft.
Mr Cachia Caruana immediately denied his claims.
In a statement, Mr Vella noted that he was included in a list of witnesses presented by Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando to the PN Executive.
He said he met Dr Pullicino Orlando at a social event a few days ago and described the meeting he had with Mr Cachia Caruana.
“Immediately after I was appointed Minister of Tourism, Mr Cachia Caruana, of his own volition, called to speak to me, while he was still a director of Air Malta.
“Richard Cachia Caruana referred to decisions taken by the Board of Air Malta for the purchase of a fleet of RJs and for the setting up of the subsidiary company Azzurra Air. He called to inform me that he, as a director, had not been in favour of those decisions of the Board. When I asked him, he admitted that he had not registered his disagreement.
“It became immediately apparent that Richard Cachia Caruana was not only not defending those decisions, but he appeared to be trying to distance himself from them and shifting the responsibility to the other board members.
“When I saw how he was trying to shirk collective responsibility and shift the blame on his colleagues, I felt I did not need to continue that conversation. I thanked him, and matters stopped there, Mr Vella said.
He added that he would declare all this in a sworn statement.
CACHIA CARUANA’S REACTION
In a reaction, Mr Cachia Caruana said:
“Mr Vella can take as many affidavits as he likes but that will not turn a fabrication into the truth.
The minutes of the Air Malta board meetings show the decision to purchase the RJs was taken unanimously and I supported the decision completely.”
“Far from trying not to associate myself with the board’s decisions, the minutes show clearly that the majority of board members and I shared the same position before and after the change of government. Mr Vella is either lying or has mixed me up with someone else.”
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As one blogger pointed out:
George Sciberras
Today, 20:16
I believe RCC. After all Karmenu Vella had admitted to erroneously berthing at Ghadira instead of Grand Harbour when navigating back to Malta from Sicily back pre 1987. He’s used to mix ups.
[Daphne – People who comment on comments-boards are not bloggers. They’re people who post comments. Bloggers are people who write internet web-logs. This website is a blog. The piece above is a blog-post. A blogger would be somebody like me: who keeps/writes a blog.]
I think now JPOS will give Labour some of his own medicine.
Miskin Karmenu, issa anke l-memorja telqithu.
Juri kemm gurament ma jiswa xejn specjalment ghal Laburist li fi zmienu, il-guramenti kienu habba gozz imbasta a favur tal-MLP.
Tghid ma haqux guramenti meta arrestaw lil Pietru Pawl Busuttil, meta hallew il-qattiela ta’ Raymond Cruana jigru mas-saqajn?
Karmenu Vella, indeed.
The man who, as a cabinet minister in Mintoff’s government, said he didn’t know he couldn’t unload a cargo of contraband at the Tunny Net in Mellieha, or enter the bay from a trip to Sicily without informing Port Control, in the Golden Years.
What he knows is that Jeffrey’s ex-wife is gaining momentum in his district.
Taf kemm nemmen lil-perit VELLA daqs meta dahal bil-yacht tieghu l-Ghadira u wara qal li ma kienx jaf li jrid jghaddi mid-dwana l-ewwel.
Well said. Maybe somebody would care to dig out an old issue of The Democrat with the relevant news report. (I believe it had been reported there.)
I cannot imagine Richard Cachia Caruana trying to curry favour with the likes of contraband-dealing scum like Karmenu Vella. That’s the sort of thing Sam and Simon Mifsud of SMS do, to further their cruise business with the General Workers’ Union.
Orange Cruises, the business owned and run by Karmenu Vella and the Mifsud brothers, will face tough competition from Norman Hamilton.
Now who shall we believe, Karmenu Guy Vella, or JPOS?
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2008/03/02/n7.html
“Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando retaliated to Sant’s allegations in uncustomary style yesterday evening, uncovering how two former Labour ministers and candidates failed to declare earnings from apartments rented out to the Freeport.
Pullicino Orlando was reacting to Alfred Sant’s revelation yesterday that land that he had rented out to third parties had been earmarked for the development of a discotheque.
Pullicino Orlando reiterated he had nothing to hide and that everything he did was above board: “Accusations of corruption are not on,” told MaltaToday.
Pullicino Orlando hit back, revealing how deputy MLP leader Charles Mangion and MP Karmenu Vella had not declared their full earnings to the Inland Revenue Department when they were ministers.
Pullicino Orlando said in that in 1995, the company Mirca Properties had rented three apartments to Malta Freeport corporation. Both Karmenu Vella and Charles Mangion signed the agreement. Mirca Properties Ltd has as equal shareholders Karmenu Vella and Charles Mangion.
The rent varied from Lm8,001 to Lm12,000 a year. And the Malta Freeport would issue cheques to the two individuals.
He said that, according to MFSA records, the company did not carry out any business in 1997 but the facts show otherwise, and the Malta Freeport had in fact issued payment amounting to Lm9,468.
Pullicino Orlando added that, during the same period, the company registered Lm5,803 in expenses.
In separate comments given to MaltaToday earlier last week, both Karmenu Vella and Charles Mangion said that they had declared all their earnings from Kappara Properties Ltd and Mirca Properties Ltd.”
But this is it, Ciccio, these stories have been buried and forgotten.