Environment Minister Leo Brincat said he was taking stock of the situation at Wasteserv to ensure the waste management company was up to standard.

Speaking during a visit to the Marsa incinerator yesterday, Mr Brincat said he would be addressing the concerns raised in the National Audit Office’s annual Wasteserv report for 2011.

The report, published last December, found lack of transparency and non-compliance with procurement regulations as well as long delays and cost variations on capital projects.

Mr Brincat, at the time the Opposition’s spokesman on the environment, had called for the resignation of his predecessor, George Pullicino.

He has long been calling for an independent audit into Wasteserv’s operations. Last January, he said that Wasteserv employees were waiting for a Whistleblower Act to expose corruption there. When asked yesterday whether he would order the audit, he said he had first asked Wasteserv itself to provide him with the information he needed, as Environment Minister, to get the bigger picture.

The information would then be analysed by experts and, if he was not satisfied, he would consider having the audit. Mr Brincat said he also wanted to have a look at Wasteserv’s detailed reply to the National Audit Office’s report.

“I must stress: this is not an inquisition. To be able to plan for the future we first need to see the bigger picture. The Government’s aim is to ensure best practices and reach EU standards,” he said, adding he wanted to restore trust that could have been lost due to political controversies surrounding Wasteserv.

He said he had already held two meetings with Wasteserv management and was taking stock of the situation to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Government’s waste management agency.

Mr Brincat said he planned to meet Wasteserv employees to listen to their concerns and pledged that the new Labour Government was not a threat to their jobs.