The Delimara extension report has been bandied about by the government as conclusive evidence that all was well with the project. This is not so. The conclusions reached are, in fact, diametrically the opposite. The Auditor's report does not confirm or deny corrupt practices. Rather, the report emphasises a number of irregularities. The Auditor goes so far as to conclude, among other things, that the tender ought to have been suspended and that Enemalta chairman ought to have resigned. This is no mere declaration to be discarded.

There is thus a definite conclusion of a certain number of irregularities. It is to be noted that the irregularities were such that they were, to my mind at least, fairly obvious. I state this in the sense that the perpetrators of the irregularities knew full well what they were doing.

They knew that somehow, somewhere, something was wrong - or at least ought to have known. The complete lack of acknowledgement of irregularities on the part of the authorities is the most worrying bit of this whole sordid and sorry episode.

There seems to be an attempt to hide behind the veil of public interest. This in itself is a denial of the political responsibility that comes with making wrong choices and appointments. This, at the very least, is a conclusion that the government must accept as having emerged from the report. To do otherwise is simple, crass arrogance. There is no other way to describe it.

The point is that the government has become so accustomed to its own incompetence and arrogance that nothing affects it anymore. Rather than going through the report and seeing if there were mistakes and irregularities, the government has once more chosen to ignore the facts, stick its head in the sand and state everything is fine and dandy.

We have really reached a sorry state of affairs in this country when nothing shames the government anymore!