The government will be seeking legal advice on a waiver clause included in a 2009 agreement signed with the government which exempted Swedish construction company Skanska from liability on the Mater Dei Hospital structure.

It said the previous administration had given a waiver to foreign companies and local contractors who worked on Mater Dei, releasing them from their contractual responsibilities.

In a statement, the government said it would be fighting the waiver at both political and legal levels for the Maltese people to get what they paid for and what they deserved.

The government, it said, was waiting for the conclusion of the independent inquiry by Judge Philip Sciberras but it had already embarked on intensive work so that all those who were responsible would get what they deserved.

The Nationalist Party in a statement told the government to seek the advise of John Dalli, who was minister at the time and was now his advisor.

In a statement this afternoon, Mr Dalli said the contract was negotiated between Skanska and the FMS. The negotiators were Brian St John and Paul Camilleri, assisted by their lawyers.

Mr Dalli said that as he always did throughout his 15 years of service in a Natonalist cabinet, he took the contract to cabinet where it was discussed and approved.

He said he still had to look at the contract to verify if defects of a structural nature contemplated in the law were included in the exemptions given.

Mr Dalli said he was consultant to the Labour government on a national health matter for a number of months and free of charge.

He said he drew up a report but he did not know whether or not it was being implemented because he did not remain in contact with the administration.

Speaking in an interview on One Radio earlier this morning, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat referred to the Mater Dei concrete scandal saying that remedial works to strengthen the hospital’s concrete structure would cost €30 million.

The Prime Minister said government would be seeking legal advice on the implications of such waiver.

“There are issues with Skanska, with whom we are asking to meet,” he said. He also noted that the reputation of the Swedish company was also at stake.

Dr Muscat said the quality of concrete was much below the minimum standards comparable to that used in pavements and consequently cost much less to produce.

“Where did the money go?” the Prime Minister asked.

“We will not stoop to the levels of the Opposition which said the building won’t come down as it had already withstood some 20 years,” Dr Muscat said.

He remarked the Opposition leader could not pretend to be completely exempt from taking political responsibility as at that time of signing, Simon Busuttil was an MEP and he later became the deputy leader of the party in government.

“Dr Busuttil cannot keep distancing himself on something which happened five years ago and should pronounce himself, as I had done when faced withquestions on Labour’s past soon after I was elected leader,” Dr Muscat said.

The Prime Minister also repeated the accusation made on Friday by the Health Minister that former Foundation of Medical Services CEO Brian St John of locking a contract in a safe which Dr Muscat said was found “hidden” during the probe on the weak concrete.

A year-and-a-half after the PL was elected to government, Mr St John was appointed Medialink CEO. On Friday, Mr St John denied such claims.

Speaking about the controversy on the site earmarked for the American University for Malta outside a development zone in Marsascala, the Prime Minister said government was open for a compromise possibly by constructing part of the university on the ODZ Żonqor site and the rest on other sites.

“I acknowledge that environmentalists might have genuine concerns,” he said.

However, he remarked he could not understand the PN’s position as it had initially welcomed the investment but later cast doubts on the nature of the project itself.

“This shows that the Opposition’s intent was only to prevent this project from materialising,” he said.

Dr Muscat also pointed out that in 2002, the PN government had considered opening a landfill at Żonqor, which was shortlisted among four possible sites. 

“My interest is to attract investment to the south of the island which will inject €70 million in the economy each year,” he said.

The Prime Minister said feedback so far had centred on about 10 alternate sites but did not go into further detail. He also noted that the ODZ boundaries designed by the PN administration were “mind boggling” as some of them did not make sense except to accommodate some third parties whose land was included in development zones.

Asked about the Petroleum Division in Birżebbuġa, suggested by the Opposition, the Prime Minister noted the site was not adequate as it first had to be decommissioned. “We also need to seek the opinion of nearby residents, as they might want the area of be converted to an open space,” he said. 

Speaking about the €400 million investment by the Corinthia Group in St Julian’s which will include the demolishing of three hotels to make room for a six-star complex, he said this would provide accommodation for wealthy individuals acquiring Maltese nationality through the citizenship scheme.

“This investment equates to half the EU funds Malta had received during its first 7 years of membership,” he said.

The Prime Minister noted that the government would seek ways how to allow the developer to keep working even during the summer months, by transporting the material by sea. This would ensure that the works would not disturb the Paceville area.

“Our vision is to turn the so-called golden mile to the platinum mile,” the Prime Minister remarked.

However, this would require the upgrading of the nearby infrastructure to ensure a better road network, possibly going underground or introducing a rail system.

“Reality is that Malta’s population is over half a million as there are roughly 120,000 tourists each month,” he noted.

The Prime Minister said government’s challenge would also be to train enough people so that the 600 jobs set to be created by this project would be filled by Maltese people.

 

 

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