PL And PN Media Houses Are Over €20 Million In Debt To Maltese Government
The Labour Party and its respective media house are said to be around €10 million in debt from unpaid VAT, stamp duties, and water and electricity bills.
The figure was reported by Illum who also said that the PN’s media company owed €12 million to the government in the same respect.
One TV Chairman Jason Micallef did not confirm the actual amount but did not deny that the debt ran into the millions. In light of the sum incurred, he said that repayment agreements were firmly in place.
The news followed PN Leader Bernard Grech’s recent announcement that the party is €32 million in the red, losing thousands of euros because of its media company Media.Link Communications.
But despite the emerging figures, questions are still asked of the respective media houses with respect to the publishing of their accounts.
Lovin Malta widely reported how ONE Productions Ltd and Media.Link, the media arms of PL and PN respectively, are several years late in filing their accounts.
By doing so, the two major political parties have defied the law obliging businesses to file audited accounts every year. Neither the PL nor the PN’s media companies have published them for years.
ONE Productions last filed their accounts in 2010, while Media.Link last published theirs in 2005, and this for the year ending September 2003.
Both Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition Leader Bernard Grech have acknowledged that their media companies haven’t filed their accounts in years and have repeatedly pledged to sort out the situation, but without giving any timelines.
Lovin Malta’s active court case has challenged the constitutionality of a specific proviso in the Broadcasting Act which allows for party stations to be partial in reporting on news and current affairs in breach of the constitution.
A website, Kaxxaturi.com, has also been set up to explain the details of the case and why Lovin Malta decided to open it in the first place.
Micallef was said to testify in February, but failed to appear in court and was thus found in contempt of court and fined €100, with the court issuing a warrant for officers to accompany him at the next hearing.
Illum, in addition, has reported that Micallef is expected to leave ONE Productions in the near future.
What do you make of the figures?