Feb 24 - Air Terminal Advertising Contract Is A “Glaring Example Of GSD Victimization” Says Government
The accusations by the Opposition regarding the advertising contract at the new air terminal shows how little Mr Bossino would like to pretend to know about the vindictive behaviour of the GSD when his own party was in Government, according to a statement issued this afternoon from Number 6.
The Government statement continues:
Before the opening of the new air terminal, the then Government transferred the staff, the functions and many of the contracts in existence at that time from the old air terminal to the new one. This applied to commercial matters like advertising and commercial units. The functions of Terminal Management Ltd were largely taken on board by the new airport company Gibraltar Air Terminal Ltd (GATL).
Accordingly, all the management and the directors of Terminal Management Ltd, which was privately owned, were given employment by the then GSD Government in the new air terminal. However, this did not apply to Mr Jimmy Ellul who was the only person singled out and hung out to dry by the GSD because he was not considered to be one of their supporters. This was an act of specific and premeditated political discrimination designed by the GSD political hierarchy.
This was yet another example of political persecution and victimisation during the years when the GSD was in office and it is something that Mr Bossino should not be proud of. Indeed, it is a shameful example of how the GSD abused its time in office to vindictively persecute those who were not its supporters.
Moreover, to make matters even worse, after removing Mr Ellul, the GSD employed one of their own supporters in this commercial area at the new air terminal. This happened only a few days before the last general election took place, even though the person in question lacked experience in this kind of commercial position.
Commenting on the matter, the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo explained:
"Therefore all that the Government has now done is revert to the system that existed previously at the old air terminal and that the GSD themselves allowed to continue from 1996 until just months before the General Election in 2011. We have put right what the GSD did wrongly. Mr Ellul had been discharging his functions for over 20 years very successfully with Terminal Management and had produced income in all those years from advertising. Indeed, since his appointment the income is already £169,000. It was, disgracefully, only in the time that Mr Ellul was not in post, and the GSD's appointee was in place that there was no advertising income, thereby demonstrating what the cost of GSD nepotism has been to the Gibraltar taxpayer - a huge loss of revenue as a result of their vindictiveness and nepotism; GSD cronyism that cost money!
"Mr Bossino should be ashamed of the nepotic actions of the GSD. He should publicly apologise for their cronyism and abuse and the expense to the public purse of their politically discriminatory and objectively unjustifiable actions."
