The Nationalist Party has taken the government to task over the “gross shortcomings” revealed by the National Audit Office.

One of them was how the Energy Ministry engaged a legal adviser through a law firm at the rate of €170 per hour, excluding VAT.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, MEP Roberta Metsola and PN spokesperson Marthese Portelli said that the NAO report had revealed a serious maladministration, a lack of transparency, abuse in government spending as well as other breaches.

Dr Portelli said the Auditor General’s report tabled in Parliament last month flagged a number of shortcomings in the Energy Ministry, such as irregularities in overtime payments, the purchase of airline tickets and several direct orders.

The government had lowered all political standards and was losing all sense of political correctness

She also referred to a €29,000 trip to China which the NAO said had not been backed by an explanation and details of the trip.

Dr Metsola lamented that the government had lowered all political standards and was losing all sense of political correctness and ethical standards.

The report highlights an energy conference organised in July 2014 where the supplier of catering services was paid five times the amount originally quoted for a reception. The supplier was chosen for the cheapest offer; yet a quote of €3,190 spiralled into a total invoice of €15,559.