Constantly updated - A former CEO of Enemalta Corporation, David Spiteri Gingell, told a parliamentary committee this morning that when he took up the job, he never expected to find so much neglect in he corporation's soft management infrastructure.
Replying to questions before the Public Accounts Committee which is discussing oil procurement in 2010 on the basis of a report by the Auditor-General, Mr Spiteri Gingell said he set about trying to reform, but found hurdles and obstructions.
He recalled that n 1997 he had written a report on Enemalta's structures and the changes which were needed, but three years later, nothing had changed, not even the curtains.
One of the most glaring shortcomings of such a major corporation was that it lacked accountants and it was unable to recruit any with the funds allocated to him by the Finance Ministry.
The corporation had no people to keep up with EU requirements, carbon trading or to maintain the list of debtors. He had needed at least 15 people, and was given two.
Mr Spiteri Gingell said he had resigned because decisions were being taken by the finance ministry in South Street. There had been political interference, he said, and he stepped down because he had no control over finances and people, even though he was the one who was accountable.
However there was no interference from minister Austin Gatt, who was directly responsible for Enemalta at the time.
He said he had presented the government with papers on creating a robust management structure. There was recognition by Dr Gatt's ministry of neglect in the corporation's management. That was why he had been appointed. But the Finance Ministry refused to issue funds for recruitment and the necessary change. As a result, a billion euro organisation such as Enemalta lacked even the basic management structures.
It was sweet irony that the Finance Ministry then itself realized how the corporation was lacking the basic of basics when it assumed direct responsibility for Enemalta.
Asked whether he had resigned in protest, Mr Spiteri Gingell said he had resigned out of a feeling of impotence just 11 months into his job. He ended up unemployed.
Asked if he had pointed out the shortcomings in the Fuel Procurement Committee, he said the shortcomings were obvious throughout Enemalta.
The Finance Ministry simply did not understand the gravity, the seriousness of the situation at Enemalta, Mr Spiteri Gingell said. They did not understand the need for surgery.
Replying to further questions, Mr Spiteri Gingell said he had enjoyed respect from minister Austin Gatt and was backed by then Enemalta chairman Alex Tranter.
Because he had respected Dr Gatt he had continued to work on specific assignments until Enemalta found a new CEO.
Asked about the decisions leading to the selection of the BWSC plant using heavy fuel oil, Mr Spiteri Gingell said he entered the scene when tenders were about to be issued. At the time Malta was running out of time - with Marsa needing to be closed and a gas infrastructure still needing to be built. That was maybe something which should have been done earlier, but at the time he proposed a phased approach starting with heavy fuel oil and then gradually converting to gas once the infrastructure existed.
Watch the sitting under way below.