'Contract should be published'

A former minister, an environmentalist, a doctor and a mayor have called for the controversial contract regarding the extension of the Delimara power station to be published.

Contacted by The Times, they all expressed serious concerns following the Auditor General's investigation into the deal between Enemalta and Danish company BWSC for the extension of the Delimara power station.

The Auditor revealed several shortcomings but no hard evidence of corruption and Finance Minister Tonio Fenech has refused to publish the contract.

In his findings, the Auditor said the contract, signed behind closed doors last year, was drawn up very hastily to the extent that it even had track changes still visible.

Former Nationalist Party minister Michael Falzon, who was in government when the Delimara site was chosen for a power station, said this was an "environmentally flawed decision" that went contrary to the strategy outlined in various Enemalta documents throughout the years.

He said it was unthinkable for a government to invest in heavy fuel oil in this day and age and this decision could seriously damage the government's environmental credentials.

Mr Falzon said it would be better for the contract to be published so as not to give the impression that the government had something to hide.

"I am convinced that people at Enemalta gave the government the wrong advice. What motivated them, I don't know," he said, adding the Labour Party's criticism focused too much on the idea of corruption.

"The real big problem is environmental," Mr Falzon said.

He stressed, however, that unless the government could prove something illegal in the contract process it would lose a lot of money if it were to back out of the contract.

Environmentalist and medical practitioner George Debono said the whole affair was suspicious since, according to the auditor, BWSC's agent Joseph Mizzi was uncooperative and claimed to have forgotten important aspects of the deal.

He said things became even fishier with the government's refusal to publish the contract in what is meant to be an "age of transparency".

"One wonders whether a police investigation should be initiated. I'm not a legal expert but the Auditor General has no teeth."

He said he was obliged to speak out on the issue because of its environmental implications, including the fact that the power station would use untested technology and produce a large amount of toxic waste which would be exported, probably to a third world country.

Paediatrician Patrick Zahra, who practices in the Marsascala area, said the Auditor's investigation did not put his mind at rest that there was no corruption.

"He found there were a lot of irregularities but it must be kept in mind the Auditor General does not have the power to investigate people's bank accounts or personal computers."

He said the government opted for a power station that would produce more emissions than other forms of technology available.

"Heavy fuel oil is rife with heavy metals and toxins that are carcinogenic. We have committed a sin against children and vulnerable people, who live in the area. For years children in the surrounding localities will be going to school and sleeping next to this polluting power station when we could have had cleaner technology."

Dr Zahra said the contract should be published because taxpayers' money was at stake in the matter.

Meanwhile, Marsa's Labour mayor Francis Debono said the quicker the Marsa power station was closed the better. But he feared Delimara would become another Marsa.

"I suspect that all we are doing is shifting the problem and this does not make national sense," he said.

"Much cleaner technology should have been used but, unfortunately, we have not developed beyond the 'second-hand mentality'," he said.

Past Labour governments had been criticised for buying power station engines second-hand from abroad.

"The contract should be published. After all even the contract of a simple house sale is available publicly. This is taxpayers' money we are speaking about here and it should not remain secret," Mr Debono said.