Former Nationalist mayor of Għargħur, Helen Gauci, today formally requested that the Auditor General investigate the allegations made against her by the Labour Party following her removal from office through what the Nationalist Party described as “an anti-democratic manoeuvre orchestrated by Robert Abela”.
This follows a motion submitted yesterday evening during a meeting of the Għargħur Local Council by former Mayor Helen Gauci and PN Councillor Marilena Hassan, requesting the Auditor General to investigate the allegations.
Helen Gauci submitted the motion after Labour councillors levelled a number of accusations at her, yet consistently failed to produce any evidence to substantiate their claims, the Nationalist Party said Friday.
Instead of supporting an investigation by the Auditor General – a public official unanimously appointed with cross-party support and trusted by the nation – in yesterday evening’s meeting, the Labour Councillors objected, the PN said. They attempted to replace the Auditor General’s role with that of the Director General for Local Councils, the same official who, just last week, appeared on the Labour Party’s media station Super One to discuss the Għargħur case before even conducting any form of inquiry.
After initially attempting to block Gauci’s motion altogether, the Labour Councillors then introduced an amendment to include the Director for Local Councils in the investigation – thereby ensuring the government’s involvement and effectively choosing who would investigate their own allegations.
It is now clear that the Labour Party is uncomfortable with a truly independent investigation by the Auditor General. Instead, they instructed their Councillors – who hijacked the majority in Għargħur – to alter the motion so as to involve the Government directly, the PN said.
The party added it believes that any investigation must be genuinely independent and transparent. It is for this reason that former Mayor Helen Gauci has called for the Auditor General to lead the inquiry, so that the full truth can come to light.
Gauci was ousted from her position after a PN councollor resigned from the party to join Labour councillors in a vote of confidence against the mayor. The Nationalist Party won 62% of the votes in last June’s election, winning three seats to Labour’s two. Francesca Attard, elected for the PN, resigned and voted with PL councillors to remove Gauci.