Unbelievable: when found out, scramble for cover
These people twist and turn like slippery garden skinks. Because there can be no denial that the President of the Republic talked the Community Chest Fund into paying for Darleen Zerafa’s tuition fees, flights, and other expenses for her master’s degree (distance learning, and what’s more, with an Italian ‘college’, for heaven’s sake), given that the process was minuted, his office is now claiming that Ms Zerafa has refused the offer. And this despite the fact that her thanks, and her delight, are also minuted.
Really – when did she decline? Before or after the story was published? And whose word do we have on that? The word of people who have shown already that they are not to be trusted?
The word of a man who lied when he said that he had only seen the text of the Speech from the Throne when it was handed to him just before he read it out, when it was later confirmed by others that he had it two days ahead?
This is just so appalling.
If Ms Zerafa and the President of the Republic were not in collusion about fixing for her to get her money off the charity, then why did he make the request in the first place? This is not the sort of request that can be made without the consent of the involved party.
So let’s get this straight: the president and Darleen expect us to believe that they were all sitting there at that meeting, and then suddenly the president, without Darleen knowing what it was all about, asked Darleen to leave the meeting, and she hadn’t a clue why but obligingly left. Then she returned and acted delighted and, to quote the minutes, “thankful”.
But they did all that just for fun, because she didn’t want the money really and now that the story’s broken six months later we’re told that she’s not accepted the offer.
Yes, right.
Ma ssibx tarfhom dawn in-nies. They have the mentality of market-stall traders in an under-developed society.
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Was her refusal of this generous offer minuted?
Darleeen ‘shouldn’t’ be the one to be ashamed but the president should be for ‘suggesting’ it.
Both are birds of the same feather…
Both of them should be ashamed. Bloody peasants.
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-05-14/news/zerafa-declines-reimbursement-from-community-chest-fund-1592262656/
At least the market-stalls in an under-developed society smell of spices. Here they smell of sour fish.
Jitqaddtu qishom tadam fix-xemx.
Issa ahjar, ghax skont hi, ghandna President ihawwad wahdu.
Sewwa qed tghid, Jozef, haqqha skont. U dan jinhadem skond il-bzonnijiet taghha.
Skond Rita Law it-text books biss biss jiswew bagatella liri. Imbaghad ghandek il-hairdressers u n-nail filers, li ma jaghtu l-ebda skont lill-istudenti…
How do you square this sentence, taken from the minutes of the same meeting?
“This was agreed unanimously and the President asked Harry Fenech to ensure that this was carried out .”
RESIGN RESIGN RESIGN
If not, IMPEACH, IMPEACH, IMPEACH
Better still, BRITISH COME BACK
Boris Johnson for prime minister.
Your last proposition is the best.
I have always deemed it a mistake that we requested/became independent of Britain.
Mediocrity and rampant rape of the country have reigned supreme these last 50 years.
The really best minds and the most talented all left this country. The only ‘economic boom’ that this land experienced in these last 50 years came at the cost of ruining the landscape/envjronment and the selling of real estate to foreigners. Otherwise konna immutu bil-guh.
Totally agree with your first two points, but definitely not with your third.
I am Maltese and proud to be and now we happen to be EU citizens just like the Brits and although our politicians leave a lot to be desired, that is no reason to want to be colonised once again.
I have no wish to be colonised. I just don’t want this head of state.
Well done Daphne.
The Times appears to have closed off the comments board too. I wonder why.
They are going to introduce pay-per-comment. (Wishful thinking)
Jirranga ruhu Privitera .
Tibzax, Privitera ghandu minn fejn ihallas mhux hazin. Mhuwiex hafi.
Miskin Privitera…
Well done, Daphne……
Whether or not she accepted is quite irrelevant in this case. As is the value or otherwise of her studies.
The point is that the President used his position to influence a decision regarding a close relative of his. Then again, why should we be surprised?
The fact that the Office of the President is emphasising that Darleen Zerafa did not accept is actually confirmation that the offer was ‘indecent.’
The President should RESIGN. This is his second fatal mistake and it does not look well on the Presidency.
Mistake 1: Mr. President stated that Prime Minister gave him the speech of the opening of the legislature, minutes before he read it. The Times said that this was given to him AT LEAST 2 days before. I do not recall any counter reply from the OPR.
Mistake 2: Darleen Zerafa – the OPR should make public the detailed transactions/payments and then we see the truth. Payments would have been by cheques or bank transfers.
Fuq tlieta toqghod il-borma.
Even if it were true that she willingly did not accept it (and that’s a stretch already), the fact that the offer was made in the first place should already be sounding off alarm bells. It’s just plain disgusting. Period.
I think His Excellency owes the Maltese an explanation.
Even more so when the funds related to Darleen’s ‘scholarship’ need to be accounted for.
Basically his office has just declared him King George.
Lots of saplings to talk to.
His Excellency?
I donate money to the Community Chest Fund for the needy not for the greedy
Do we give don ations to Community Chest Fund for the likes of Darleen Zerafa to go get her masters and fly in comfort, or do we give donation for someone in need?
My stomach turns. Preaching unity, preaching (generally Christian) values and then…..we get lies, insults, hypocrisy, and even more lies to cover lies.
Utter shame. When all that is necessary is an apology to a nation and an honourable and silent departure.
Who is Pinocchio at this stage. Our George Abela is certainly slipping badly of late or he is being given the wrong advice. Watch your back dear George.
Actually, the fact that she declined it – even if for the sake of argument it were to be true – makes it even worse, because that would mean that even she saw what the President did not: ie that it was a very very bad idea. So much for political judgement.
Or was it because it was the best thing to do after the story broke?
The Times did not disable the comments function for stories about the suicide of ex Judge Pace, but it has disabled comments for this report about Darleen Zerafa and the president.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130514/local/president.469710
Sleazy amateurs, all of them. Can’t even cheat properly.
Exactly, Harry. Why would one document one’s cheating in the minutes?
Much as I like your posts I have reached a stage where, seeing these events unfold, make me feel good in the knowledge that I had no part in bringing this mess about.
It looks like now even the President’s office has become Taghhom Lkoll.
We had Verdala Castle converted into Mickey Mouse land (very appropriate). We now have the almighty Manuel possibly jetting off to the Eurovision, board appointments galore, switchers getting their prize, the power station tender, in all probability, going to a consortium of switchers, being asked to leave mobiles if you are meeting ministers (probably they will extend this even to social gatherings, so beware), part-time ministers and parliamentary secretaries who are more interested in their private practice than the affairs of state…
But topping the list of this veritable mess is the total absence of somebody who, until a few weeks ago was all over the place trolling his lectern in every square and main road of this island. Really, dear God help us, because they have only been there a couple of months and it is not getting any better.
The Times has now published the official response on its web site but the usual invitation to post a comment is absent. I wonder why not?
I do not ever remember the Office of the President of the Republic being involved in so many controversies as those that have cropped up since this incumbent took office.
It’s disgraceful and very unseemly.
Were they offering to fund her make-up too?
It looks like she might need state funding for that.
That blusher is a crime. Just what you’d expect from a hamalla with her trotters in the trough.
Freebie Socialism at its best…
Sicilian Socialism at its best…
Can we have the auditors confirm that she did not get reimbursed?
On timesofmalta.com you can comment about the PN situation but not about Miss Zerafa and the President.
Well, how can we ever know whether monies were siphoned out for her cause already?
Of course now that all is out in the open and seeing that for the second time people are determined not to donate to L-Istrina the Community Chest Fund are getting worried that this year they might not reach their goal of yet another record.
From a record goal to an own goal in one fell swoop.
“Mr Victor Carachi said that his Union’s policy was that if they sent people on training courses all costs were reimbursed” ( from the first article about this story)
Give us a quick time line. From what I understand she was already studying, which is why they listed all the expenses and stress she was dealing with.
Then they nominated her.
Then, since they had nominated her and therefore would benefit from her experiences in Italy, they decided to pay for everything.
Therefore the policy mentioned by Victor Carachi is not applicable because they did not send her on any course, she went of her own accord, correct?
It is normal practice that a Company which effects similar sponsorship/s (full or partial) with one of its employees will enter into a contract with the employee whereby he / she undertakes to remain in the employ of the Company for a number of years.
Ms Zerafa, we are now informed, performs the duties of Secretary to the MCCF on a voluntary basis so can she enter into such a contract?
Notwithstanding the above, if Ms Zerafa was performing her duties with the Office of the President on a full-time paid basis, she would still have to leave her duties when the term of office of the President expires.
So, where does that leave us? This is siphoning (or offer to siphon) funds intended for a charitable cause.
Yes, I understand that, but there was no mention of her having to stick with any company to start with, and she was already studying when they decided to reimburse her past expenses and carry on paying the rest, because, bless her, she had to wait at an airport for ten hours to get the cheap flights like everyone else.
I just don’t understand how they could possibly justify any of this.
The confirmation that the Community Chest Fund has actually accepted and confirmed its decision to fund in full one of its employees’ Masters programme makes me even more convinced that the President’s time is over.
The statement issued by the palace makes it even worse and less convincing. It simply states the obvious: Community Chest Fund monies were going to be addressed to the wrong end. The lady in question should have applied for a Government’s scholarship.
Mr President, be a gentleman throughout – resign! This decision, that is now public and confirmed by our own spokesman, has a terrible effect on (a) your presidential role, (b) people’s trust in our politicians, and, above all, (b) people’s confidence in the Community Chest Fund.
Thanks to Daphne, without whose communication of these documented minutes, we would have been never informed of this folly.
Does the President think that his committee’s secretary, regardless of her generous approach to work voluntarily, is more deserving than many others who are also in a similar position? Or does he think that the Community Chest Fund is above the law of justice in the distribution of our state’s goods?
The money collected by the absolute majority of the contributors is drawn from taxpayers.
In a normal country, the President would tender his resignation. But this is not a normal country.
I agree. What a stupid mistake to make!
Mr President, please resign and with you all the Community Chest Fund Board Members will go. In any case, they were accomplices since the Minutes say that the decision was unanimous.
The more he speaks, the more he loses his credibility. Dear George, choose the honourable road and RESIGN.
Who gives a hoot about Darleen’s reaction? That’s a subplot.
The point is that the President of the Republic suggested that charity money should be used to refund his relative’s Masters.
What irks me is that such individuals do not regret their actions but regret being exposed/caught out. What we are observing now are attempts at damage control. An apology is due, but I am not holding my breath.
I would rather think that what is due is justification i.e. a proper explanation why people were led to believe by the Community Chest Fund that the funds we donated were for the needy when in fact the persons allocating funds felt they could appease the President dipping into those funds.
Agreeing to do something does not make it right; being the President does not give one the right to give away anything but then, should we be surprised?
These are the people who left marble plaques in the Verdala Castle garden, commemorating for posterity the baptism of their children in the castle chapel.
So giving away what is not yours just because you have power is a pattern which can be seen in various other actions. Pity, seeing one failing to rise to one’s station is not a pleasant sight!
http://www.illum.com.mt/2010/05/16/interview.html
You know our President has started to read the minds now.
It has been reported online that “The President’s Office said that the MCCF board still feels itself justified in making this offer”.
To err is human, to persist in error is diabolic.
What’s all these Monopoly references?
Community Chest? Chance? Free Parking? Go Directly To Jail? Free Parking?
Ahseb u ara fejn imorru donations ohra. Ghalhekk ma riedx jirregistra l-Community Chest Fund mal-Kummissjoni tal-Volontarjat. Ghalhekk ma riedx skrutinju tal-Kummissarju?
Is this the reason that the President chose to concentrate his Presidential effort and mission on the CCF?
And to think we only got to know about this particular episode because Daphne’s spotlight shone on the matter.
Who knows what else is happening elsewhere, and has already happened, that the spotlight hasn’t yet alighted on?
I dread to think.
Are we sure she declined it? Can we see the CCF accounts?
Isthi, Gorg, isthi!
U rrizenja!
The president should be exemplary in ethical behaviour and transparency.
They have their own version of ethics, and it’s called Us and Them.
Oh, look what I’ve just found somewhere on the internet.
“Mr Speaker,
Honourable members of the House of Representatives,
We have opened a new chapter in the history of this people. The time for pique, partisanship, ARROGANCE IN LEADERSHIP, AT ALL LEVELS OF ADMINISTRATION, MUST BECOME A PART OF THE PAST. This will be a Government that looks towards building the future, rather than copying the past. This will be a Government which will lead with a sense of humility and will be ready to take decisions.”
Guess what? The source says that it’s the first paragraph in the speech from the throne by the President during the opening of the Parliament of the Republic of Malta on 7 April.
What an opportunity for Joseph Muscat. The President (who was Joseph Muscat’s competitor for the leadership of the party) resigns and Muscat points out what bad judgement Lawrence Gonzi had and blames the whole mess on the PN.
The President should resigned and be ashamed of trying to abuse of people’s charity.
I think that by now Gonzi has realised his mistake in nominating Abela for the Presidency. Surely it was not worth the trouble caused within the Nationalist Party.
The people have a right to an explanation on this.