Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this morning that the government would seek an investigation of how sulphur content in some oil consignments imported by Enemalta was higher than contract specifications.
He said recent revelations in hearings of the Public Accounts Committee were worrying, and he hoped the police would look into them.
It was simply unacceptable that the country did not get what it paid for, and instead got a product which was potentially harmful to the people's health.
The government would therefore investigate what had taken place, and the people involved.
Earlier, Dr Muscat said the government’s top priority was to create wealth, because only in that way could wealth be distributed to all the people.
Speaking at Paola Labour Party Club this morning, the Labour leader said one of the earliest strategic decisions taken by the government was to consider the EU as an extension of Malta. And since the EU was in economic crisis and growth was elsewhere, the government was seeking out the countries whose economies were growing or had the short-term potential for growth.
Examples of that were the talks in China and Israel.
The PN had criticised the government for planning to sell a minority stake of Enemalta to Chinese interests, and yet that was precisely what the UK were doing – indeed, the British government was planning to sell majority shareholding in nuclear power stations. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne had said that investment was needed in those power stations, and instead of investing taxpayers’ money, Chinese money would be used instead. Taxpayers’ money would be used for health and education.
That, Dr Muscat said, was exactly the Maltese government’s thinking as well.
It was significant, Dr Muscat said, that only Opposition leader Simon Busuttil had criticised the week-old announcement of an agreement with a consortium to build a gas power station. This opened the way for lower energy tariffs for consumers from March. Didn’t Dr Busuttil want tariffs to go down.
The mess in oil procurement procedures under the PN government was constantly coming to light in the hearings of the Pubic Accounts Committee, with the latest revelation being that sulphur content was sometimes higher than contract specifications. He hoped the police were looking at these revelations. Malta had been paying for highly refined oil when the product that was imported was detrimental to health.
The government, he said, would seek an investigation of the people concerned because it was unacceptable that the country did not get what it paid for.
Turning to the Budget, Dr Muscat said the government would stick to its electoral commitments. The government wanted to instil confidence in the economy while bringing the deficit below 3% of GDP.
This would be in sharp contrast to the first post-election Budgets of PN governments, which had seen increases in VAT and tariffs.
On the Civil Partnerships Bill, Dr Muscat said the government was acting on the basis of its strong electoral mandate. This was a Bill based on equality which removed prejudice. The government was not doing anything in secret, and he was sure that those who had doubts come around within a few years to realise that this was a good decision, in the same way as had happened when civil marriage was introduced, or homosexuality was decriminalised.
The fact that people were gay should not exclude them from adopting children. After all, homosexual people had been able to adopt in the past, Dr Muscat said.
It was the PN itself which had proposed a Constitutional amendment against discrimination. So how was it now that there was an element within the PN against equality as shown in this Bill? The PN hesitation in its reaction to this Bill had given it away and its eventual decision would be guided by convenience, more than anything else.
Dr Muscat reiterated the government's firm' position over migration, but said he was surprised by the Opposition leader's criticism about migrants who had been brought to Malta instead of being taken to Lampedusa.
At a time of crisis, when people were dying, the least one wanted was to get lost in rules and regulations, Dr Muscat said.
One was firm on migration, but not when people's lives were concerned.
"The Opposition leader simply does not get it," Dr Muscat said.
Dr Muscat said there was some small movement in the EU on migration, but Malta and other Mediterranean countries would refuse Frontex rules which provided that rescued migrants had to be taken to the country which rescued them.
On Thursday, Dr Muscat said, he would argue strongly at an EU heads of government meeting and if no agreement was reached, he would remember the matter when solidarity was demanded in some future EU issue.