• Auditor General hits back at critics within government
• Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee may summon Joe Mizzi
• Bateman considers legal action over Delimara tender
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Auditor General Anthony C. Mifsud yesterday admitted that his office felt “under attack” by the wave of criticism that followed in the wake of his findings on the €230 million procurement of the Delimara power station extension from Danish firm BWSC.
“We have come under attack, but we cannot react,” was Mifsud’s short reply to MaltaToday, when asked about what he thinks about the government’s reaction to the inquiry findings.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and ministers Tonio Fenech and Austin Gatt all minimised the report’s findings, stressing that the Auditor General did not find any conclusive evidence of corruption.
But Mifsud made it clear “for the record’s sake [that] one cannot fail to mention the lack of cooperation from certain stakeholders who contended that they could not recall certain events or information.”
The Auditor General’s report specifically referred to BWSC’s and Lahmeyer International’s middleman Joe Mizzi as “one of the key players” who although summoned by the National Audit Office three times, “repeatedly cited lack of memory when asked certain questions.”
Mifsud responded with a “no comment” to the question about the suggestion made by minister Austin Gatt who accused him of having “not read the law” when referring to Enemalta’s chairman Alex Tranter, who declared and admitted to a conflict interest during the procurement process.
Tranter was a business partner of Nazzareno Vassallo, whose firm will carry out civil works for BWSC on the Delimara extension.
Mifsud added he had “no remit” to submit his findings for investigation by the criminal police, when asked to react to finance minister Tonio Fenech’s suggestion that “should he wish, the Auditor General may take it to the Police.”
“Going to the police is completely out of my remit. I respond exclusively to Parliament and cannot go anywhere else.”
The Auditor General will be present throughout the parliament’s Public Accounts Committee hearing on the Delimara investigation.
PAC chairman Charles Mangion said he intends to schedule hearings before his committee shortly after the conclusion of the Fairmount contracts’ hearings.
Labour MP Charles Mangion has not excluded the possibility of summoning Joe Mizzi before the PAC, who would possibly be confronted with other people involved in the whole procurement saga.
But Mangion, who also shadows finance minister Tonio Fenech, stressed that the discussion is destined to be even more controversial, rekindling the PAC’s experience during the hearings on the defunct Voice of the Mediterranean radio station.
“We had asked to refer the case to the Attorney General for further investigation, but government had voted down the request,” Mangion said, adding that at the moment it’s a “wait and see situation.”
Last night, Mangion challenged government again to publish the controversial contract with BWSC that reportedly carries a €300 million penalty should Malta not honour the commitment reached with the company.
Meanwhile, Bateman – the Israeli-owned company that lost the bid to BWSC – is currently reviewing the Auditor General’s report and is mulling over whether to take any legal action against the government.
Contacted yesterday, Bateman’s business development manager Yossi Shazar told MaltaToday that it was “ridiculous” for ministers Tonio Fenech and Austin Gatt to say that should Malta have chosen gas technology rather than Heavy Fuel Oil, energy bills would have had to increase by 30%.
“This is a clear example of when politicians want to be popular and don’t state the clear facts, because our experts have been to Malta many times and showed clear workings that be it short or long term, gas generated energy would have been cheaper on consumers pockets,” he said.
Shazar added that it is also a “wrong to assume” that there is no alternative to the BWSC plant as there is no more time to waste given the energy crisis the country may be facing, while branding as “very strange” the €300 million penalty Malta would have to pay BWSC if the contract is not honoured.
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