So exactly how does somebody whose job it is to run a shelter for the homeless end up owning a large farm in Sicily, with a business selling agricultural products?
Whenever you see Jean Paul Mifsud, chairman of YMCA Malta, in the news, he’s standing beneath his hat lamenting the lack of funds for his shelter, how food stores are being depleted, and how the shelter will have to close down if the government (not this one, but the other one) does not unclench its fists and release more and more money.
And you think, gosh, how self-sacrificing this man is, giving up filthy lucre and a less taxing, more financially rewarding life to dedicate his time to helping lost boys and girls and putting a roof over their head and food in their mouths.
And now we discover that he has been providing for himself quite nicely, after all. He has somehow been able to acquire a large farm near Ragusa in Sicily, where he produces olive oil and other foods under the Barbuto (which means ‘bearded one’) brand name, and cosmetics called Barbuto Maya, selling them to an English-speaking market via a rather nicely branded website in which he presents himself – still standing beneath that hat but this time also beneath an olive tree – as The Farmer.
The blurb tells us that The Farmer grew up in urban territory (no mention of Valletta or Malta) with a dream to farm. Nowhere is there any mention of any dream to care for the unfortunate, or the fact that he is full-time chairman of YMCA Malta, running a hostel that takes hundreds of thousands of euros in funding from the government of Malta.
In 2010, there was a lot of news coverage about the YMCA, with teenagers being removed from its care, Mifsud saying the place would have to close down because the government wasn’t giving it enough money, and the government responding that it was concerned about the YMCA’s failure to show audited accounts as a precondition for receiving the money, which was why the money had been withheld.
In the light of this news that Mifsud owns a farm and business in Sicily – he also owns a large house in Valletta’s St Ursula Street which he runs as a hotel business rather than as a homeless shelter – the publication of audited accounts for the YMCA becomes more imperative still, for his sake, too, as well as that of the charity he runs.
Publication of audited accounts apart, Mifsud still needs to give an explanation to the public, which supports his cause, of how he acquired the funds to purchase that land in Sicily, his large house in Valletta, and set up in business in both places. It’s not only the money, either – another explanation is required, as to how he can be full-time chairman of YMCA Malta while running a farm and business in Sicily.
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His oil was stocked at Fortnum and Mason.
And at Harrods too, I believe.
https://www.facebook.com/BarbutoFoods
http://www.barbutonatural.com/history-tradition/
http://www.openmindconsulting.it/press/file1876464659cs01_13BarbutoC.doc
Don’t fucking get me started on this one.
He is, after all, one of Peppi Azzopardi’s closest associates.
I know for a fact that “this one” has had no connection with Peppi Azzopardi et al for at least the last six years. So please, don’t start mixing up things and people, sir. Happy new year.
They’re still on friendly terms. They fed off each other’s household name status back in the day, and more recently through l-Istrina, and they are both experts at wearing the mantle of revolutionary bohemianism while securing their financial future. They’re Malta’s Bob Geldof and Bono.
All I can say is that if people didn’t see through this fraud way back in the 90s they must have been blind.
But what really gets me is that, whilst the Maltese are serially duped by L-Istrina (under HE Abela), Cash for Cancer, YMCA and several other “charitable” NGOs, Malta’s Deaf community still don’t have enough Sign Language Interpreters, Sign Language is still not recognised, and subtitles are non-existent.
Even more incredibly, the general comment re deafness is “they do so much for them today”. Do they? Like what?
https://www.facebook.com/silentworldmalta?ref=ts&fref=ts
I fully agree with you.
If I am not mistaken, he is also an ardent communist. And communists (like socialists) are all ‘so fair’ when they come to distribute the wealth of others.
Go ahead. Tell us more. Makes better story than our Joe`s COMICS and GIMMICKS
Most charities in the UK are not much better than this. I feel sorry for those whose lives depend on these charities.
Google Archer Oxfam Beatles
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20101018/local/ymca-says-promised-government-funds-have-not-materialised.331942
“Mr Mifsud in a reaction to the ministry’s statement said that the government had been informed that the accounts would be a month late this year because of a new specialised system being implemented. They would be published at the end of October.”
Ma kellekx ghalfejn titbazwar Sur Mifsud. Anke minghajr sistema gdida/avvanzata, kull ma kellek bzonn taghmel hu li ssejjah ‘book keeper’, jistudjalek il-profitti u t-telf; il-cashflow, u l-bilanci u l-forecast ghal gejjieni – daqqa ta’ firma tieghu u tieghek u lest.
Minn hemm lil minn tipprezentahom, normalment l-awtoritajiet, jiggudikawlek kif qed tmexxi.
Kumplikata? Le!
“Are you the farmer?”
“Of course he’s the f*cking farmer.”
Int trid tkun biex jinkixfu dan it-tip ta`skandli.
Is-sena t-tajba lilek u lill-familja kollha tieghek.
Grazzi mill-qalb.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130908/food-drink/October-olive-picking-in-Sicily.485590
http://agendaviaggi.com/malta-e-sicilia-unite-dallamore-per-lolivicoltura/
Now watch him run to Labour for protection, and getting it.
YMCA is amongst this year’s beneficiaries of L-Istrina
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131226/local/l-istrina-charity-extravaganza-kicks-off.500357#.UsNZNNGA1dg
Not just this year but for the past 10 years!
Kif tista ma ccempilx?
I never trusted this punk.
In 1996, JP Mifsud proudly stood at the forefront of an environmental protest group against the new Hilton (Portomaso) redevelopment.
Calling themselves ‘Il-Front Kontra l-Hilton’, the leaders of this group resorted to all kinds of tactics to attract the media to their cause.
Much fanfare and running around in circles by the written media, especially by Maltatoday, ensued, until one fine day, ‘Il-Front Kontra l-Hilton’ vanished into thin air.
Although their cause was considered noble, their exit strategy left many questions unanswered, of which one central question still remains. . .
Did JP, and possibly others leading the campaign, receive some kind of pay-off for abandoning their steadfast cause?
1996 seems like a lifetime away, however many still remember, and many still ponder on this possibility.
Assessing JP’s modus operandi and his suspect intentions leaves one with the impression that some kind of underhand transaction occurred, all the more believable now that such details and facts emerge, about this shady and unpalatable character.
Julian Manduca is a legend to whom one can only aspire to emulate. He was the embodiment of what a real and true environmentalist should be, in the local context. By contrast, JP Mifsud reeked (and still reeks) of opportunism and of a low-life manner of doing things that contrasts so much with the amore proprio that people like Manduca emanated.
One’s gut feeling that JP Mifsud is a con-artist ticks a box.
The circumstantial details that he is not bona fide are glaringly obvious.
The odd aura that surrounds his ‘benevolent’ persona send contradictory messages that any objective person would question.
JP Mifsud should have been investigated a long time ago. That he is now facing a trial by media is simply a knee-jerk reaction to his over-zealous ambitions.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:t-9yr8LTNhQJ:www.scribd.com/doc/104694044/State-Power-Hiltonopoly+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=mt&client=firefox-a
Jean Paul Mifsud is one of the many opportunists and profiteers that inhabit the island.
https://www.facebook.com/BarbutoFoods
Kullhadd jahxi kemm jiflah f’dan il pajjiz.
That’s exactly why we are overpopulated!
Peppi Azzoppardi should invite him on Xarabank.
Waiting for answers, Barbuto. He always looked false like many others who act like they are on a fast track to sainthood.
Does he catch the bus to Sicily?
As far as I know this guy was practically destitute until a few years back.
Don’t expect Mr. Barbuto to declare his income and how he came to buy such a property. Mr. Mifsud is a socialist by nature, through upbringing and mentality. He has socialist ministers who set a good example for him: the Gozo Emperor and the Lord of Catering-Police.
A final query, if I may. Did he set up his website just after the election result, or it was on the web for a longer period before that?
[Daphne – The website date is 2013 and all promotion began this year.]
Naghmel sew jien ma naghti xejn lil hadd.
So has he severed all connections with YMCA Malta?
[Daphne – He’s still listed as the chairman.]
If YMCA are one of the beneficiaries of this year’s L-Istrina, then I am glad I sent no money.
They have been beneficiaries for the past 10 yrs.
“Any connection with J P Mifsud of YMCA Malta ?”
Awkward posts on Facebook just now !
“Barbuto commented on post.
Barbuto wrote: “Hello . Yes i am a volunteer at YMCA Homeless and help mainly where children issues are involved. Happy new year. Thanks” ”
Barbuto’s reply to above post.
[Daphne – He’s actually the chairman of YMCA Malta and speaks on its behalf.]
Jean Paul Mifsud has been running this little set up in Sicily for at least 2 years now.
I recall that a friend of mine had actually been invited over to a private launch of his olive oil products at which he made it known to all that his product was going to be sold in London at Fortnum & Mason – a task which he claims had cost him a lot of time and money in promotion but due to the fact that what he offered was after all a product of a superior quality, he was positive that his investment would flourish into something good.
I give stuff to the needy like good used clothes. I also give my time by volunteering to work as a helper with a number of organisations without expecting a return.
Who said you only have to give money to help?
When you give money without knowing what you’re investing in, you ‘risk’ financing corruption.
What a coincidence, this man has something in common with John Dalli. Charity.
Grace and bounty have always granted them plenty.
Zmien ilu kienu jigu organizzati parties il-Paradise Bay u biex tidhol kienet tintalab ‘donation’ ta LM5 ghal YMCA. U min ma jhallasx din id-donation, ma kienx jithalla jidhol. Ovvjament, JP Mifsud kien ikun prezenti. Qatt ma nghatat ircevuta ta dawn l-eluf li kienu jingabru.
It seems homelessness is only a problem when the Nationalists are in government.
Wasn’t this one against capitalism some years ago?
Could there be some interest in the project, emanating from our sister island of Gozo? Is it only Mifusd`s interests in Sicily that went by unnoticed or were there others whose investments in Sicily are buried deep in what Sicilians call omerta?
I’m still waiting for the VAT receipt for the olive oil I bought from him.
Report him.
He is the same communist guy (his mother was a personal friend of Dom Mintoff). The same guy who way back in October 1992 closed the streets of Msida due of a delay in payment of sixth form stipends. Always liked to be in the lime light as if he was the saviour of all problems. Now he has turned to nature it seems.
In the run up to Christmas Jean Paul Mifsud held an in-store tasting session of his olive oil at Franks Perfumery at the Plaza.
You fear the consequences of my comment dear Daphne hence the reason of not publishing it? Shall I cry out Bullseye?
[Daphne – I deleted it because your information is completely wrong, and hence, libellous. Opinions based on the correct facts are fine. Opinions based on the wrong information are not. I have absolutely no contact with the persons you mention, and haven’t had for rather a long time, so you are sadly misinformed.]
The perception is that there is good daily bread to be made by some individuals from getting into the business of providing for the homeless, downtrodden of society and lending a ”lehen lil min m’ghandux”.
What a total closet red wanker. Hope he sleeps well with his Marx & Engels beside him.
How big is that farm?
Looks like: IT’S FUN TO STAY AT THE YMCA.
Jean Paul Mifsud is a rabid Laburist. I have known his family through friends we have in common for twenty-odd years, and I have always been struck by what a Mintoffjana his mother is.
I haven’t seen any of them for a rather long time now but they were always what I consider to be a bulwark of “Laburizmu”.
9 out of 10
So you never knew that this generous POOR soul owns two flats in Valletta and rents them out apart from the hostel?
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xpal6jml2zU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dxpal6jml2zU
Not too bad for a Mintoffian communist. Apparently Palazzo St. Ursula used to be his home, complete with a subterranean heated indoor pool, but now that he’s moved to his farm in Sicily, he’s turned it into a boutique hotel.
Jean Paul Mifsud has done sterling work for the YMCA filling a vacuum for the voiceless homeless at great personal sacrifice over many years.
Only those who worked closely with him know the extreme cases he handled often involving defenceless children and women.
The man may be a bit of a maverick, yes, but it takes one and his kind of guts to take on an institution and put the plight of the homeless on a stage where it now is.
Living on a farm in Ragusa or selling organic food and products isn’t a crime. Making unsubstantiated insinuations about YMCA funds and their misappropriation may be. Either beef up the claims with evidence or leave the man be. How about asking the homeless shelter residents for an opinion on JP and the YMCA?
What is the sparing of a single life from suicide worth? Does anyone of you know how many lives YMCA has saved? Or might this not make a sensational story?
It’s very easy, Xmun. All he needs to do is to publish the YMCA Malta accounts for the past 10 years.