Fight against corrupt contract to continue, Muscat pledges

Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat said yesterday that Thursday's parliamentary debacle unified his parliamentary group more than ever before, adding he was shocked by the surreal anti-democratic behaviour and blatant lying.

Speaking to supporters in Ħamrun, he lambasted the Delimara power station extension contract signed by Enemalta and Danish company BWSC and said the Labour Party's fight against corruption would not be overshadowed by what happened in Parliament.

On Thursday, the House took a vote about the project but Parliamentary Secretary Mario Galea mistakenly voted with Labour. Later, government MPs claimed that Labour MP Justyne Caruana voted against her party, prompting the Speaker to call for a re-vote and the opposition to walk out in protest.

Dr Muscat said it was shameful of Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg to pick on Dr Caruana when he projected himself as being "holier than the Pope".

"They picked on her because they thought she was the weakest link. Little did they know she is a lioness," he said, adding that Dr Caruana was in the early stages of pregnancy and was brought to tears by the allegations.

Dr Muscat recalled that only a year ago the Nationalist Party had dedicated a billboard campaign on the fact that (then) Labour MEP Glenn Bedingfield had made a mistake while voting in the European Parliament. And, yet, in this case, they accused Labour of being undemocratic for insisting that Mr Galea's vote be counted as was made.

Dr Muscat said there were three incidents in the past where Speakers insisted the first vote of MPs would stand even if it was a "lapsus".

Insisting that the PL was vindicated in the vote, he read parts of the Auditor General's report about the controversial contract. Last week, BWSC gave the government permission to publish parts of the contract but ordered it to table only one hard copy in Parliament and that no other hard or soft copies be made. The PL took its copy of the contract, scanned it and put various copies on CDs for anyone who wanted to examine it, Dr Muscat said defiantly.

"If BWSC want, they can take us to court. But we believe that the public interest take priority in such matters," he said, adding it was unacceptable for the government to take such orders from a private company.

According to the Auditor General, Enemalta had "given in" to BWSC in almost all instances, ending up with a contract through which there would be no penalties if the works took long and there would be a bonus if it were completed early. The contract also stipulates that if anything goes wrong, the government has to wait 30 days before initiating legal proceedings against BWSC. (See opposite page.)

Dr Muscat criticised Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt for insinuating that the Auditor was involved in some form of manipulation or hiding certain facts out of convenience about bidder Bateman not having been informed about the results of the tender.

Dr Muscat said that throughout the debate it became clear that the PN was justifying its choice based on price not on environmental benefit. However, even if this choice were cheaper, the Maltese would surely opt for the cleaner solution, he said, adding that there were many things that were not factored in this so-called lower price.

"Cheap things come at a price," he said, adding that former Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami used to be very fond of this phrase (L-irħis għali).