CALPE HOUSE when is this going to end? - Gill on Gib

 Month after month there would be something to write about. It started as more and more people became upset at the running of the Charitable Trust that was so important to the well being of Gibraltar residents. No one believes that the concept of Calpe House is a bad idea or that the majority of Trustees who have now become Directors of a United Kingdom Limited Company are implicated in any wrong doing. It is the way that the money - that the people of Gibraltar give willingly - is handled.

We discovered that the Charitable Trust also had a dormant company called Calpe House Ltd. Then we discovered that the Calpe House Charitable Trust was no longer running, and the limited company would take over the reins. In the meantime the accounts for the trust were not submitted to the Charity Commission and after many days the Charity Commission suspended the charitable status.

No charitable status

Despite this the Trustees continued to fund-raise and be given donations to a project without charitable status. The accounts were eventually filed but they did not tally with the previous year's accounts that had been done by a Gibraltar firm of accountants. This paper later discovered that the charity registered in Gibraltar called the Friends of Calpe House, had made no record of the donations they had received from the generous general public. Furthermore, a motion was heard in Parliament with most Members from all Parties, apart from the Independent Marlene Hassan Nahon, giving their support to Calpe House activities. It was also pointed out that the Commissioner for Police Eddie Yome was a trustee and therefore there was a conflict of interest. Later events transpired when the accounts were adjusted that he was actually a Director not a Trustee as stated in Parliament.

Marlene Hassan Nahon has been requesting further information from the Trustees about the millions of pound spent on removing asbestos from the new Calpe House Building bought with a loan from the Government of Gibraltar that needs to be repaid at some point. I suspect that the reason for the delay into the response from the Trustees is because there are none. The Trustees gave up their positions many months ago, and are now Directors of a limited Company. A limited Company not answerable to anyone apart from the Charity Commission in the United Kingdom and Company House UK.

In the meantime on realising that both the Charity Commission and Company House were again investigating the accounting or lack of accounting, the Limited company adjusted their submitted accounts from a balance of Nil to laughably millions of pounds. In making this adjustment to the 2017 accounts it also made the accounts for 2016 incorrect and they also had to be adjusted.

Distressing

Quite a year for the charity, and most distressing for the people that have worked so hard in raising money for the worthy cause, not quite sure where their money went to, and who has control of it. At the moment the accountancy firm being used is the same firm that adjusted the accounts for the year 2016. They also take care of the accounts for other businesses that are heavily involved in Gibraltar's public services, despite being back street London based firm situated over a row of shops in Wood Green. Who would imagine that a company run by a Director of Media for the Tourist Board for Gibraltar based in London sells pharmaceutical equipment to the GHA, just like her father did in the 1980's.

Having thought that Calpe House was now going to run with due diligence, I was bewildered to see a photograph of a presentation to Calpe House Directors Albert Poggio, Ian McGhie, Charles Marfe, EddieYome and Deborah Huxley at the Fine Art Gallery in Casemates square. Stephen Hermida's first solo Photographic exhibition called NATURAL FACES raising £3,200 for Calpe House Charitable Trust. He thanked his sponsors and all those who purchased the prints for such a worthy cause. At least the former trustees are now rightly calling themselves Directors. However the question still remains - Where is the money going?

No transparency

The Directors were holding a cheque for the value of £3,200. The cheque is not written out to Calpe House Ltd, which looks after the house in Norfolk Place but to a bank account in the name of Calpe House Charitable Trust which legally has nothing to do with the old or new Calpe House residence in London. Is this just a marketing ploy because a cheque made out to a limited company doesn't instil a great deal of confidence or is it yet another accounting error, or more worrying is the money going to an account that is set up in the name of a trust that has nothing to do with care for sick Gibraltarians?

We will never know, because there is no transparency, there is no record of certain donations, and there are no answers being given to a Member of Parliament.

04-01-18 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR