Gatt reveals carrot and stick tactics by Israeli bidder for power station contract
Ehud Olmert tried to pressure the Maltese government.
Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt said today that Israeli company Bateman, one of the bidders for the power station extension contract, had both threatened and offered incentives to the government in order to win the contract.
Its officials, he said, had also admitted that they had Enemalta insider information .
Speaking at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee during which he asked a series of questions to the Auditor General, Dr Gatt said that documents presented to the Auditor showed that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi even refused to take a phone call from former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who wanted to promote the Israeli bid.
Dr Gatt said that while Bateman had accused BWSC of unlawful political assistance and insider information, he knew that evidence given before the National Audit office showed that it was actually Bateman which had resorted to such tactics.
Documents given to the Auditor by Edgar Galea Curmi, an official at the Office of the Prime Minister, showed that at a meeting between the Prime Minister and the Israeli Ambassador, the latter warned Dr Gonzi that "the issue is going to embarrass the Maltese government as the Malta Labour Party has good contacts with the Hutney Bateman consortium and has all thed etails of the tender."
The ambassador also claimed that at meeting with Joseph Muscat, the issue had been raised at the request of Dr Muscat.
Dr Gatt said the words used by the Israeli ambassador to the prime minister showed clearly that Bateman had used this diplomat to send a message to Dr Gonzi.
Dr Gatt said said that later, former Israeli ambassador Ehud Olmert, himself involved in corruption cases, had phoned Dr Gonzi and asked to speak to him about the bid.
Dr Gonzi refused the call, arguing, as he had done with the ambassador, that politicians did not get involved in tendering procedures.
Dr Gatt said the representative of Bateman then had a meeting in Brussels with Richard Cachia Caruana, Malta's representative to the EU where he presented him a 'political brief'. He also contacted MEPs Simon Busuttil and David Casa.
Documents given to the auditor by Mr Cachia Caruana showed that at his meeting in Brussels, the Bateman representative, Mr Siesler, warned that the company would resort to the press. He told Mr Cachia Caruana that a director of Bateman was a former minister and bank director who had close contacts with the then Israeli finance minister and could therefore facilitate a double taxation avoidance agreement with Malta.
This carrot, Dr Gatt said, had been offered after many Israeli refusals to Maltese requests for such an agreement.
This, Dr Gatts said, was yet another example of undue political interference.
In his documents to the auditor, Mr Cachia Caruana had also reported that Mr Siesler also claimed to having access to internal Enemalta correspondence, Dr Gatt said.
This admission of insider information was further reinforced when the Bateman lawyer wrote to the prime minister, just 10 days after the bids closed, where he indicated that he already knew of a report which included the company among the shortlisted bidders.
Dr Gatt complained that while the Auditor-General's report said that it found no evidence of any BWSC involvement in insider information or undue political interference, the report did not make clear how this existed in the case of Bateman.
Labour MP Evarist Bartolo said if the pressure made by Bateman was as described by Dr Gatt - and he had no reason to doubt him - then he wanted to condemn it.
Such behaviour, he said was unacceptable and the PL condemned any such political interference and threats.
If the ambassador said that there were good contacts between Bateman and the PL, this was a blatant lie. It was also not true that there were phone calls between Labour MPs and people in Israel.
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Charles Zammit
Dec 1st 2010, 13:29
I am surprised about the level of detail Dr. Gatt is prepared to share about an unsuccessful bidder. If only the same disposition is shown with regards the winning bidder too.
Joseph Aquilina
Dec 1st 2010, 13:26
As much as I know, BWSC was blacklisted by the World Bank because of attempted (and successful) corruption cases, then will Malta present a case in front of the World Bank so that even Bateman will be blacklisted by the World Bank? Or this is just talk to try and win the public opinion?
On a similar note, if this information is false, then I expect all those mentioned in this article to take the Maltese government to court in order to protect their reputation.
joe farrugia
Dec 1st 2010, 12:07
jien smajt id-diskors kollu tal PAC, fuq dak li smajt jidher l il luhd mhux il kungress amerikan biss kapaci jikorrompu,izda jipruvaw jidhlu kullimkien u kull min sema' id-diskors dahal fiha l-ammbaxxatur luhdi izda minhajr ma nvolva l-gvern tieghu ghax fid-diskors kollu qatt ma semmiet xi pressjoni mill gvern luhdi izda ex politici, pero id-diskors tal-ammbaxxatur lhudi ma' ddejjaq xejn isemmi lil PL u lil Joseph Muscat mal-PM ghalija dik tfisser li ser juzaw lil PL u lil Joseph Muscat biex jaghmlu pressjoni fuq il gvern malti u jekk wiehed ihares ftit lura wara li lahaq leader JM kien hemm xi hadd fil PL li lil lhud riedu jtajruh mill PL ghax kien ta' xkiel ghalihom ghax kien favur il kawza palestijana li kien segretaju internazzjonali tal PL is-sur Joe Mifsud .
Jekk smajtu id-diskors ta' Evarist Bartolo dan iddefenda biss dak li qal l-ammbaxxatur fuq il PL izda qad hafna attent li ma jsemmiex lil Joseph Muscat ghax l-ammbaxxatur lhudi meta semmijhom bhala entita u individwu.
A.J.Borg
Dec 1st 2010, 11:21
Heh, Mr WikiLeaks Gatt.
So let me get this right. If Bateman lobbied and did not get the tender despite having a cleaner, tested and more efficient system, BWSC must have "lobbied in 5th gear" to win such a contract with an untested, toxic prototype using Heavy Fuel Oil.
No wonder emissions threshold was lowered, Zaren won the construction bit, Tranter & Spiteri Gingell got comfy jobs, BWSC heads suffered amnesia, Joseph Mizzi gets €4m commissions, sub-contractors involved in corruption cases, contract not published, witnesses not summoned, black-listed Lahmeyer International gets involved......so on and so forth!
Mike Magri
Dec 1st 2010, 10:43
Dear ALL PN suckers.
The more you try to, (Unsuccessfuly), `demonize` Dr. Joseph Muscat personally, the MORE of a morons you make of yourselves... AND, the more your admittance of the fact that Dr. Muscat`s new and `fine` political abilities, are hitting your GonziPN`s hubhazard administration very, very hard. So much so that even from your own PN`s orchestrational remarks, it seems to have Stunned you TOO, deeply and dearly...!!
Thank you Dr. Muscat... Just KEEP Up the Goodwork.
jbusuttil
Dec 1st 2010, 11:15
Mike Maqri from your writing you seem stunned and let me tell you why because the question is if the Israelis promised a double taxation agreement to the government of Malta than what did they promised to Joseph Muscat for a helping hand they surely they must have promised something? They must have promised something big as Joseph would not have been beating about the BWSC for all these months. That is why the people out there are stunned this morning as the truth is immerging about all these BWSC accusations.
Joe Micallef
Dec 1st 2010, 11:21
Your anger speaks volumes!
“Dr. Muscat`s new and `fine` political abilities” - you mean fine in the sense of practically invisible!
Forget political analysis and go fishing or to some anger management classes.
Mike Magri
Dec 2nd 2010, 07:30
@..J.Busuttil.. The truth, and the whole truth, will ONLY come out if Tranter, Spiteri Gingell and Mizzi, will be let to go to testify in front of the PAC, and most of all, MANAGE TO REMEMBER ALL they should say about this dirty contract..
@.. Joe Micallef.."..Your anger speaks volumes!.." and the rest...!! I guess that you must have been looking at a mirror when you said that, right...!
NIKKUMPATIKOM............!!!
B Saint
Dec 1st 2010, 10:18
it was only the govt that changed the requirment - neither the opposition nor the israeli ambassador - so the maltese people SHOULD get a decent answer of why this happened
M.Borg
Dec 1st 2010, 10:09
What took the Hon. Minister so long to devulge this piece of information? He has been complaining lately, that the BWSC matter has been dragging on for the past year or so.
Anthony Cardona
Dec 1st 2010, 09:57
My political wits tell me that the revelation of this 'pudding' is nothing but a cover-up of a bigger 'pudding'.
Christian Sciberras
Dec 1st 2010, 09:54
The power station extension was a bad decision nevertheless.
If the government is supposed to phase out non-ecological solutions, it doesn't make sense to build such an extension - even if temporary - which it is not.
An investment into long-term solutions by, for example, diverting money from useless works (enhancing existing buildings, constructing gardens and ambitious centres) to wind-farms would have been wise in a world where oil price is soaring as are penalties to deterring non-ecologic solutions.
tony abela
Dec 1st 2010, 08:29
In the scenerio given by the Hon Minister Austin Gatt, what could be the reason for the Government not to allow the witness of Mr Tranter and Mr Joe Mizzi on the PAC. If according to Dr Austin Gatt the LP is involved in dirty work and corruption in this Tender, surely they will be more than ready to give evidence.
Words speaks for themselves, and people do have common sense.
J Borg
Dec 1st 2010, 01:12
Can you please stop treating us like dumb twits
1)
Common Joe knows that tendering on energy project is dirty...
If the Israelis tried and failed, for me it means it was not enough.
2)
Revealing this material and therefore putting Israeli-Maltese relations at stake means that the need to justify the BWSC tender award exceeds this risk.
Why go to these lengths to justify the award? if you are clean you are clean e basta!
3)
The AG report is not an endorsement of government actions - it is actually is an embarrassment for government.
4)
This is a government issue. What does PL have to do with it.?
Remember that Evarist started this crusade ALONE. Muscat came in late on this (let is not go into this however).
Information promotes transparency...
STOP the cover up...
Tony Gatt
Dec 1st 2010, 09:35
Mr. Borg, your comments are contradictory. Are you in favour of transparency and information? Or do you prefer covering things up for what you deem to be the good of Malta's relations with Israel?
Frankly such comments not only show a confused political assessment on your part, but more importantly naivety regarding International Relations with the State of Israel. Do you think it is in our interest to engage with Israel on the basis of submission? If our dear laet Guido de Marco were to hear your comments he would surely have something to say!
John Pace
Nov 30th 2010, 23:22
I am getting it right?¿¿ Was Bateman blackmailing to set up all the show that the PL has performed very well?? If this is true...veru mela is-SEWWA JIRBAH ZGUR!! Zgur li Bateman xerrduha li l-BWSC ghamlu pressjoni politika... ghax il-halliel jahseb li kulhadd halliel! Niftakar sew li l-PL kien qed jiddefendi it-teknologija tàl-Bateman??Jekk gara kif qal Dr. Gatt li hu ragel kreddibli u mhux se jibza minn hadd allura vera tal-misthija!! U l-PL rega` fuq in-naha l-hazina tal-argument!! Jiena mhux se niddefendi il-koruzzjoni imma f`gieh Alla!!
A.J.Borg
Dec 1st 2010, 12:00
You are SO naïve my friend.
Leave God out of all this. He's probably cracking jokes about you anyway.
Joseph Cauchi
Nov 30th 2010, 22:05
So, according to Dr. Austin Gatt’s testimony, this proves to show that the MLP and Joseph Muscat have been hoodwinked by the shrewd Israelis!
What would one expect from amateurs, immature and inexperienced people like Joseph Muscat in such case scenarios?
Joseph is still an apprentice in the political game and needs at least twelve years of learning to ever becoming a Prime Minister!
It is of no use pretending! One should ask “Where is the Beef?”
Definitely Joseph has NO BEEF!
JC.
Mary R Borg
Nov 30th 2010, 21:59
The Israeli, or Bateman, or whoever, could have threatened and offered incentives as much as they did or did not. It has absolutely no bearing on the fact that the BWSC contract looks very irregular, as the Auditor himself intimated. TheGovernment itself makes it look more so with the frantic way it is trying to suppress the facts and cloud the issue - as in this instance.
marti saliba
Nov 30th 2010, 21:39
Cant dr. gonzi speak for himself or is this a case where he can say that it wasnt him who said it ?
joseph cachia
Nov 30th 2010, 21:31
Malta need no agreements on double taxtation with izrael.
We have nothing to export to, nor we need to import from israel
Thank GOD bateman did'nt succeed with their tender
We have to be carefull of any israel influence in MALTA
It's the opposition duty , representing half MALTA population to critisize the GOVERNMENT
if there solid proof of corruption, which is possible.
That the LP officers had any dealing with bateman is questionable
Possible some PL businessman supporter, indicating to bateman that he can help
through an informer at Enemalta main office
J.Saliba
Dec 1st 2010, 09:32
Mr Joseph Cachia I believe you are a very good PL apologist. Very cool and calm... TODAY.
John Micallef
Nov 30th 2010, 21:29
Dear All,
Their is a very important peice of info missing here.
The real scenario was that the Israeli tenderer Bateman bid for gas technology was cheaper. This changes everything in such statement. But for some convenience we don't know no one mentioned this.
I seriosly beleive that if the PL is smart as he says he insist that an inverstigation be carried in respect of a tender awarded to an Izraeli company issued by the local army some years back. As for some reason instead of getting an open technology, they opted for a proprietry network. Something that no series buyers buys, as he will be locking himself in a corner. Figure out if this can ever make sense in the militry sector.
g delia
Nov 30th 2010, 21:18
well, i am now convinced ,more than ever before,that BWSC had presented the best offer,one that nobody could refuse...
Mario Cauchi
Nov 30th 2010, 20:47
Lawyer Austin Gatt appears to be a great lawyer for BWSC and Joseph Mizzi... Seems someone had more power than Bateman.
j.saliba
Dec 1st 2010, 09:42
Then.. Well done!..Hon. Dr. Austin Gatt