Malta Today’s Insinuations on Green MT

Malta Today continues with its damaging campaign against GRTU and Green MT in spite of all the denials. The issue now goes to Court. But GRTU & Green MT continue to deny the main story. First of all GRTU does not apply and does not receive any Eco-Tax refunds or exemptions. Nor does Green MT. Those who benefit from exemptions are the members of Green MT.

So really the issue Media Today and the Labour Party media keep pushing forward is absolutely false. Green MT did not have to sign any contracts with any Local Council for the period July 2009 to December 2009 as four Labour Mayors, Malta Today, l-Orizzont and the other Labour media keep reporting. The collection of grey bags weekly for 26 weeks in 22 Localities over this period was done by the contractors appointed by each Local Council and each contractor invoiced Green MT for the service rendered and each contractor was in turn paid by Green MT. All invoices and receipts of payments were made available to the Approving Authorities.

Green MT was at that time the only Authorized Scheme ready and willing to take over all this payment when Government stopped paying the contractors directly and the Local Councils had no funds allocated for this additional service. All documents show most clearly that Green MT acted on instructions of the relevant competent authorities. There is also enough evidence to prove that the Association of Local Council was party to this agreement. It is inconceivable that any Mayor or Local Council Administration did not know of the arrangement. All Local Councils were obliged to enter into an agreement with any of the schemes by March 2010. Green MT discussed its offer with the individual Local Councils and by March 2010, 16 Labour majority Local Councils and 26 Nationalist Majority Local Councils signed a contract with Green MT. No Local Council was forced into signing with Green MT however Labour Majority Local Councils were instigated personally by Dr Toni Abela, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, not to contract with the not-for-profit Green MT scheme and to contract with the other Scheme, which was then a 100% privately owned company with family shareholding.

All Councils know that payments for the separated waste collection were different over three different periods. From the initiation of the grey bag in early 2008 till end June 2009 payments were made directly by the Local Government Department or by the Local Council to the contractor but with the Local Council receiving reimbursement from the Department of Local Government. Only a few opted for the second alternative. There was a tri-partite agreement between the Department of Local Government, GRTU in representation of waste carriers and the Association of Local Councils in representation of Local Councils. Payments for the period from July 2009 to December 2009 in 22 Localities were made directly to the contractors by Green MT. The remaining contractors operating in all other Local Councils continued to be paid by the Department of Local Government according to the first agreement. As from March 2010 onwards payments were affected either by Green MT or the other scheme directly to the contractor to whom Local Councils contracted for the said service.

The question remains: who is instigating all this anti-GRTU and anti-Green MT campaign? GRTU and Green MT are seeking Legal re-dress. The culprits of all this damage will pay.