Benefits of Stabbilita’ scheme limited, boosts business for Labour cronies

A small public relations company owned by Deborah Grech, primarily serving as a marketing tool for her husband, singer Ivan Grech, was the main beneficiary of a significant amount of public funds from the economy ministry for the Stabbiltà fil-Prezzijiet campaign, aimed at controlling spiralling food costs.

Striped Sox Ltd, which also provides support during Labour Party electoral campaigns, was commissioned to organise the government’s promotional campaign by direct order and paid over €130,000, according to information published in the Government Gazette.

Launched in February as a measure to control rising food prices in supermarkets, the initiative involved several supermarkets agreeing to reduce the selling prices of a limited selection of essential food products by 15%.

The goal was to lower inflation. However, critics regarded the initiative as a public relations exercise, claiming it had little impact on the increasing cost of living.

The Malta Chamber, which opposed the scheme, described its effects as negligible. Despite this, for some of those affiliated with the Labour Party, the scheme represented a significant business opportunity.

Grech frequently receives government direct orders, the most recent being a €10,000 annual contract for her husband, Ivan, to act as a brand ambassador for Esplora, a public science centre in Kalkara.

Other beneficiaries of the Stabbiltà initiative included the ruling Labour Party, which received €13,280 through its One TV for “publicity”,  and Streetmedia – a billboard company owned by Adrian Sillato, a former director of disgraced Keith Schembri’s Kasco Ltd.

The same ministry additionally disbursed €140,000 through several direct orders related to its participation in the public service expo, another annual promotional event organised by the government.

The procurement list suggests an attempt to circumvent public procurement rules to avoid issuing a competitive tender.

This was also evident in the case of approximately €30,000 in goods purchased from Mompalao, a small firm based in Birkirkara. The company was issued three separate direct orders to provide merchandise and promotional items to the ministry during the same week.

The combined value of these orders was just under €10,000 each, which allowed the ministry to avoid issuing a competitive tender by splitting the procurement.

At the same time, the ministry issued direct orders to Dominic Attard to build its expo stand (€41,000); iCan Ltd, which is owned by PBS CEO Keith Chetcuti, for audiovisual equipment (€15,000); and iCommunications Ltd, owned by Quinton Scerri, a PBS presenter and former Labour mayor, for a promotional campaign during the same expo.