Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi this evening hit out at the government for failing to publish a long list of reports.

He said the fact that the government had not published so many reports showed it had something to hide. No self-respecting government in a democracy was as secretive as the present one in Malta, he said. In the area of secrecy, Malta was the first in Europe.

Speaking in parliament, he said the government's agreement with the bus service operator Autobuses de Leon had still not been published despite being promised at the beginning of the year. The contract with Henley and Partners on the passport scheme was published after a long delay, and important clauses were blacked out, including a clause which was no longer relevant.

The government had still to publish its contract with Shanghai Electric on the sale of the BWSC power station, the agreement on the conversion to gas, as well as the power purchase agreement.

Similarly, the contract with Electrogas on the building of the new power station and the power purchase agreement with that company was still under wraps. Even the contract for the transfer of land to Electrogas had still not been published.  The power purchase agreement with Enel on electricity bought through the interconnector was also missing.

Listing other agreements that are still to be published, Dr Azzopardi said these included hedging agreements, fuel procurement agreements, the report on ministerial and MPs’ pay, the contract for Transport Malta to lease the GWU's A3 Towers  near the Addolorata Cemetery, and the 'illegal' contract for Arms Ltd to lease GWU property in Valletta.

Still missing was the inquiry report into how criminal proceedings had been stopped against a man who assaulted policemen at Zabbar police station.

Dr Azzopardi said the people were still waiting to see the Cafe' Premier file.

Neither had the technical report into the granting of the casino licences been issued. 

Dr Azzopardi said the list of direct orders for the new power station had still not been published, including an order of €200,000 to an engineering firm.

Dr Azzopardi said that other reports which were missing included the Order of Merit which led to the promotion of the current commander of the AFM and the inquiry report on the vessel which managed to sail out of Maltese waters despite a court order. 

The Nationalist MP said one company, Tec Ltd, had been given a string of direct orders to provide catering services to the government. These too were not published. 

His list, Dr Azzopardi said, was not exhaustive, with other pending reports involving the Smart Meters scandal and the appointment of persons in positions of trust in various ministries. It had been initially said that 1,000 people would be arraigned in connection with the Smart Meters scandal. Now that number was down to 25.

Even the new Code of Ethics had still not seen the light of days, despite so many promises and assurances, Dr Azzopardi said.