Former Minister Austin Gatt speaking on the oil procurement corruption allegations, said today said that those who did not do their duty and betrayed the trust of the minister who appointed them should be severely punished by the courts on conviction.

Such people, he said, would also have betrayed the trust of the people, and the courts should make an example of them and not be lenient.

Dr Gatt said that he never heard and never had an inkling of irregularities in oil procurement.

Whenever he heard anything, about anything, he went to the police, he said.

He had actually stopped the award of a €26 million IT contract for Mater Dei Hospital because of suspicion that an official was leaking information. The man was eventually arraigned.

He had also asked the police to investigate claims of corruption in vehicle licences.

“I never heard or had an inkling of any information on oil procurement, otherwise I would have personally gone to the Commissioner of Police,” Dr Gatt said, adding that that applied to every one.

Dr Gatt was speaking before the House Public Accounts Committee, which is discussing oil procurement procedures by Enemalta between 2008 and 2010, when Dr Gatt was responsible for the corporation.

An investigation by the Auditor General had found lack of record keeping.

Dr Gatt said he had not known that the Enemalta procurement procedures were not laid down in writing. They should have been, he said, and had he known, he would have immediately ordered that they be listed, he stressed. 

Early in today’s sitting Dr Gatt replied to various questions on how Enemalta procured its oil.  

A contracts committee handled tenders for oil contracts. 

During the hearing, Dr Gatt noted that while in 2003, one of the main priorities was preparing for accession into the EU, tariffs gained priority in 2008, following the explosion in oil prices. Despite a surcharge in 2007, tariffs had to be increased taking into consideration the increase in oil prices.

About the transfer of the Enemalta portfolio to the then Finance Minister Tonio Fenech, Dr Gatt said he assumed the Prime Minister had felt that he had managed to complete what he had been asked to do.

Dr Bonnici also asked Dr Gatt whether he would have done anything different, considering the corruption going on at a time when he was minister.

Dr Gatt  replied that there were things that shouldn’t have taken place and others that could have been done differently.

Corruption, he said, was possible no matter the controls in place, acknowledging, however, that the minutes of oil procurement meetings should have been taken down properly.

Pressed by Dr Bonnici, he noted that people suspected of corruption in the Cafe Premier controversy for example.

Insisting there had been rampant corruption under Dr Gatt’s watch, Dr Bonnici said the former minister was instead bringing up cases for which there had been audits in place.

Dr Gatt was asked whether he met pardoned George Farrugia since he retired from politics.

Dr Gatt replied in the negative, adding that his contact with those related to politics was limited to a wave when they met on the street.