The government is refusing to provide a detailed breakdown of the costs incurred to host the Commonwealth summit last year.
Earlier this month, audited accounts were tabled in Parliament showing that the bill amounted to €13.5 million.
Though these accounts give a general overview of what was paid for services such as hospitality and information, the government would not give a more detailed breakdown.
Contacted by the Times of Malta for a detailed breakdown of the individual expense items, the Prime Minister’s communications chief, Kurt Farrugia, said the audited accounts had already been presented to Parliament.
The accounts show that over a third of the money spent (€4.7 million) went to “hospitality”.
“Information services” for the event cost €2.1 million, “professional services” €1.9 million, “personal emoluments” €1.5 million and “transportation” €1.1 million.
Some other expenses included “contractual services”, “material and supplies” and “utilities”.
Income from the event was €862,000, in the form of sponsorship “received in cash” and delegates’ fees of €306,000.
A request under the Freedom of Information Act was made by this paper, and the information supplied shows that Nexos Lighting, the company set up by Minister Manuel Mallia’s former chief of staff, Silvio Scerri, received over €550,000 from CHOGM contracts.
Carmel Magro, owner of TEC Ltd, generated over €355,000 in revenue from the event. He was the man behind the “works for favours” controversy involving former Nationalist Party finance minister Tonio Fenech some six years ago.
The 2015 Budget estimates for the Office of the Prime Minister, under whose responsibility the organisation of CHOGM fell, included a provision of €4.5 million in connection with hosting the summit.
The Budget estimate in question was restricted to CHOGM because, at the time, the government did not yet know it would also be hosting the migration summit, which cost €5.2 million.
Asked how the original €4.5 million CHOGM budget was exceeded by so much, Mr Farrugia said the figure was only a “partial allocation”. “Other allocations were made in 2014 and 2016,” he said.
In a March 2014 interview with this paper, Foreign Minister George Vella said hosting the Commonwealth summit would cost about €7 million.
The following March, the chairwoman of the CHOGM task force, Phyllis Muscat, told the Times of Malta that the budget was €8 million.
Government estimates after the two events put the cost of hosting them at between €10 and €12 million, not including certain preparatory works.
The actual spending on the two events worked out to be €17.65 million. Transport Malta alone spent €11.2 million on infrastructural works.
The bulk of the expenses, €10,470,000, went into roadworks.
Another €642,243 was used for line marking and signage. The most expensive line markings, at €46,000, were those at Triq Dun Karm in Birkirkara.
The 2006 CHOGM Malta summit cost €5.1 million.
jacob.borg@timesofmalta.com