In an apparent U-turn, the Prime Minister yesterday said witnesses will now be called over the controversial power station tender, only weeks after the government refused to countenance them.

Speaking during a radio interview, Lawrence Gonzi yesterday said that, contrary to the opposition’s claims, all investigations had so far proven there was no corruption in the awarding of the tender.

He conceded, however, that some questions remained unanswered, even after the Auditor General was questioned by the Public Accounts Committee.

“The Auditor General said some witnesses did not cooperate enough and I am not ready to let this be. Therefore, I have told the government MPs on the PAC to call witnesses during the next stage.”

He said the government’s PAC members will next week present a list of witnesses to be called in, including middleman Joseph Mizzi and Enemalta officials involved in the tender process.

“However, I will continue to insist that the PAC is not a court, a police commissioner or a commission against corruption,” he said, stressing that its job was to scrutinise public accounts to ensure value for money.

He said he had, therefore, also called for the Committee of Parliamentary Procedures to establish rules, which everyone would be aware of, to retain the function of the PAC.

Dr Gonzi criticised the Labour Party for wanting to call the witnesses all at once rather than waiting for the Auditor General to be questioned first.

The Labour Party has for months been calling for all witnesses to be questioned by the committee but the government, and in particular Transport Minister Austin Gatt, made the argument that this would “undermine” the roles of the PAC and the Auditor General.

Dr Gatt had maintained that calling witnesses would mean that the PAC was undertaking the Auditor General’s investigation all over again, expressing “distrust” in the Auditor.

“The Prime Minister has more than once stated that, if there is anyone who has anything to report, he should immediately inform the Commissioner of Police.

“That no one has done so, speaks volumes. That the Labour Party now wants to become the Commissioner of Police says it all,” Dr Gatt had said defiantly when the decision to block witnesses came under fire.

The Prime Minister yesterday said the committee should also investigate a claim, raised by Dr Gatt, that the Labour Party had close links with the other power station bidder, Israeli company Bateman.

“Someone has said there are links... and after a year of attacks (by the Labour Party), I think this must be investigated too,” Dr Gonzi said, suggesting that this link should be investigated by the Public Accounts Committee.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party described Dr Gonzi’s surprise announcement as a “U-turn”, adding that the Prime Minister should explain what had changed exactly since the government had objected to the calling of witnesses.

The party said it was ironic that Dr Gonzi had now agreed with the Labour Party when he was just last week arguing the contrary.

The PL said it was a pity that his conversion had come so late because witnesses were now aware of the questions they would be asked since these had been put to the Auditor General. The party added that it would add to the list of witnesses presented by the government and it expected Dr Gonzi to “order Austin Gatt not to object” to any of these witnesses.

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