Dalli wants PN to 'repair the damage'

Former Finance and Foreign Affairs Minister John Dalli has called upon individuals within the Nationalist Party he forms part of to come clean and remove the shadow cast over his integrity after the court found no irregularities in the allocation of a hospital tender.

"This was the only reason why I was forced to resign," Mr Dalli claimed yesterday, adding that he now expected Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to take the "necessary" action.

On Thursday, private investigator Joseph Zahra was jailed for two years after he was found guilty of fabricating a report in which he claimed irregularities in the allocation of a Mater Dei Hospital tender.

The report had alleged that following several meetings involving, among others, Mr Dalli's brother, the Lm25 million hospital tender was awarded to Italian company Inso. Another bidder, Simed decided to appoint a private investigator to look into why the contract had been awarded to Inso.

Mr Dalli resigned his Cabinet post in July 2004, maintaining his innocence but citing his inability to function in a situation "developed through strategies worked out by different interests". He said yesterday:

"I've been vilified. After 18 years of service to the Maltese it was a tough blow. I'm expecting that whoever used the report against me at the time should make amends," the PN backbencher said.

He said the Prime Minister was given a copy of the report on June 11, 2004, but for some reason failed to inform him about it.

"I only got to know about the report on August 15 when a journalist called me to say that Joseph Zahra had been arraigned, thus proving that it (the report) was false. I have no idea why a report which implicated a high profile person like myself was deliberately kept from me. Did someone really think I would tamper with the evidence?"

Mr Dalli said he was aware of the sources of the plot to tarnish his name - "members of my own party" - but he would not reveal the names for the time being or whether they were high-profile officials.

"When I have reason to speak out I will. But I have no intention of keeping things under wraps and I will ask for the necessary investigations.

"I don't think it's the time to do it (reveal their names). When I do, I will call a press conference. The report was intended to harm my integrity, and let's not forget it was drawn up during the election run up for the Nationalist Party leadership," he added.

"Today, we know that a false report was filed in which Lm750,000 were promised if Simed was awarded the contract. The report says it had to be correlated with tapes, which were never presented."

Is he expecting an apology?

"'Apology' might be a tough word, but I expect people to say at least that it was a genuine mistake... if that was really the case."

He maintained that the hospital tender case was the reason for his resignation.

In July 2004, The Times reported that the Foreign Affairs Ministry had made over Lm40,000 worth of travel bookings through a travel agency that is a shareholder in a company whose directors are the two daughters and a former driver of Mr Dalli.

In the days prior to that report, Labour leader Alfred Sant had also accused Mr Dalli of intervening to ensure that Gauci Borda Shipping Ltd - whose secretary is Mr Dalli's daughter - was appointed local agent of Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line, which had previously been represented locally by SMS shipping.

Mr Dalli maintained yesterday that the Gauci Borda Shipping Case was also prompted by another "false" report but in this case the Prime Minister had no problem to discuss it with him.

With regard to the air tickets issue, the former minister insisted that everything was done according to government procedure and that this was a smokescreen for the Inso report.

"I respect the Prime Minister as the head of my party and as much as I am loyal towards him and my party, the Prime Minister should be loyal towards his party's members."

Does he envisage making a strong political comeback?

"It was not my choice to be out of the minister's job. I've remained active, and will remain so. The damage has been done - but it has to be repaired. I've been waiting for two years and I expect the necessary steps to be taken."

When contacted, Dr Gonzi said the judgement vindicates what has been maintained by the government from the start of this saga - that the tender award process was above board and that the allegations that were made at the time were pure criminal fabrication.

The judgement also proves that the allegations made by the Labour Party on this issue against the government and against Mr Dalli were totally unfounded, Dr Gonzi said.

The Prime Minister said he will be seeking legal advice as to whether the government has the right to sue for damages.

Asked whether the allegations contained in the fake report had any bearing on Mr Dalli's Cabinet post, a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister insisted that it was definitely not the case.