[attach id=267659 size="medium"]Dr Muscat said he was always convinced the energy sector had been neglected. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli[/attach]

Responsibility must be shouldered for the “scribbling meetings” at Enemalta where contracts were not awarded to the cheapest bidders, according to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

“The PN has gone silent on this issue. I am astonished that I have not yet heard one valid reason to justify the amateurish way oil was being bought,” Dr Muscat said in a One Radio phone-in yesterday.

He said the Auditor General’s report on the oil procurement process between 2008 and 2011 had shown that minutes of meetings were taken down as mere “scribbles”, as if they were given to children to doodle on.

“It was in these meetings that hundreds of millions of euro of oil were bought,” he added, referring to Enemalta’s fuel procurement committee.

Dr Muscat said he was always convinced that the energy sector had been neglected by the previous government, namely because of the way it was thrown into a huge ministry. However, it was only now becoming clear that those in charge did not even follow basic rules of good governance.

I am astonished that I have not yet heard one valid reason to justify the amateurish way oil was being bought

“These are also the same names we saw in the Enemalta scandal,” he said, explaining why the police were asked to widen their investigation into the way fuel was bought by the State corporation. Dr Muscat said his Government had already enacted a Whistleblower’s Act and removed time-barring for corruption crimes.

“This means those who want to expose wrongdoing are protected and those who want to hide are exposed,” he said, adding that this was a sign of the Government’s hard work.

Dr Muscat also spoke about the report commissioned by the Environment Ministry which led to the temporary closure of the Family Park in Marsascala.

He said the Government closed the plant as soon as the report was submitted since it raised concerns about certain emissions that could have been harmful to people’s health.

The Prime Minister said the least the PN could do about the matter was to stay quiet. Former minister George Pullicino had said the closure raised a number of questions but it was the previous government that had a lot of questions to answer, Dr Muscat said.

“God knows what else has to come out about Mr Pullicino’s time as minister,” he quipped.

Dr Muscat said the Sant Antnin recycling plant was meant to generate enough electricity for 1,400 homes but instead only produced enough for 45.

The Prime Minister also spoke on Standard and Poor’s affirmation of Malta’s credit rating, saying the agency gave the country a stable outlook after examining the Government’s plans, including those on energy, and listening to the Opposition.

The agency noted there were challenges but it acknowledged the initiatives being taken to create jobs.

It said the Government had a strong electoral mandate to carry out reforms especially in the sectors where they were most needed.