The Prime Minister’s involvement in the Café Premier negotiations and the haste with which the decision was taken soon after Labour was voted into power undermines the government’s claim to good governance, according to experts.

The University of Malta’s Head of Public Policy Department George Vital Zammit and columnist Martin Scicluna said that the conclusions of the National Audit Office report on the deal raised questions deserving parliamentary scrutiny.

“Although the Prime Minister is entitled to make that decision, the method is still questionable. Given also that the sum is considerably high and it is taxpayers’ money, more scrutiny in the way the decision was taken would have been welcomed,” Dr Zammit said.

The NAO report tabled in Parliament last week concluded there were various shortcomings in the government deal to buy back the public lease of the iconic Valletta property for €4.2 million that “detract from the prudence expected” when undertaking disbursements of such magnitude.

Meanwhile, The Sunday Times of Malta can reveal that the e-mail sent by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar ordering the payment to be made was not sent through official government channels but through a private e-mail address. Official government channels are open to scrutiny but private correspondence is not. It adds to the list of questions being raised in relation to the report that highlighted poor governance and a lack of transparency in Café Premier negotiations.

The Prime Minister insisted he acted in the public interest by acquiring the property back rather than entering lengthy court litigation. Yet, the government’s stand ignored the fact revealed by this newspaper yesterday that an identical offer was made by entrepreneur Anġlu Xuereb while government negotiations on the property were ongoing.

Four days after Mr Xuereb made this offer, Café Premier director Mario Camilleri submitted a request to government of €5.37 million as a starting point for discussions.

He was also the beneficiary of €210,000 commission over the deal through his company M&A Investments. The other director, Neville Curmi, was not involved.

It transpires from the auditor’s report that at no point did Mr Curmi meet with the government and nor was he aware of the transaction. The Prime Minister held a meeting with Mr Camilleri before the election, his office admitted last week, but insisted the deal was not discussed. He held another meeting with Mr Camilleri on April 17, 2013, just over a month after the election.

The NAO report criticised the government’s lack of consideration of the court option, and also the fact that a third party had made an identical offer that would have saved taxpayers €4.2 million.

“Given the Prime Minister had just taken office and there are so many things that need sorting out that may be more important, this issue demands parliamentary scrutiny,” Dr Zammit added.

Mr Scicluna said the NAO issued a “very serious, objective and damning report”, adding the office was an independent arm of government reporting directly to Parliament.

“It highlights questions of transparency and accountability that really undermines this government’s claim to good governance and questions the government’s integrity,” Mr Scicluna said.

There was a hint about the report that government had made a deal on this before the election, like the monti hawkers and the hunters, he added. “The really critical question is did the taxpayers get value for money? There’s a clear hint in the report we did not get the best deal,” he said.