Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said he would insist on defending the independence of institutions, such as the Auditor General, whose integrity was under attack by the Labour Party.

“The Audit Office is a respectable and strong institution... Just because a conclusion reached by the Auditor General does not appeal to someone, it does not mean it should be discarded,” Dr Gonzi said during a Nationalist Party activity in Lija yesterday.

He was referring to the opposition’s insistent allegations that there were irregularities in the allocation of the Delimara power station extension contract despite the fact that the Auditor General had found no evidence of corruption or trading in influence.

He spoke about the “undemocratic” political situation in the 1980s when the PL was in government. The PL, he said, did not know what it meant to be under a government that did not respect democracy. However, the PN had experienced it firsthand, which was why the party was aware of the importance of safeguarding the independence of institutions – like Parliament and the National Audit Office – that were there to guarantee democracy.

The €210 million Delimara extension contract, awarded to Danish company BWSC, has been a source of a never-ending controversy. Following 11 months of investigation, a report by the Auditor General had flagged a number of shortcomings in the way the contract was awarded but did not find evidence of corruption.

Despite this, Dr Gonzi said, the PL had insisted on “sowing doubts” as to the conclusion of the report and insisted on hearing witnesses in the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament.

The PL’s request had been turned down when government MPs objected to the summoning of witnesses who would have already been heard by the Auditor.

Last Tuesday, the Auditor General, Anthony Mifsud, gave evidence before the PAC and reiterated the conclusions of his report.

He said that, had the National Audit Office found evidence of corruption in the Delimara power station extension contract it would have referred the matter to the Police Commissioner.

He reiterated there was no evidence of corruption or trading in influence at any stage of the public procurement process.

Despite this, Dr Gonzi said, the PL insisted on claiming there was corruption. He said the Office of the Auditor General was a respectable institution and the Auditor was a parliamentary official whose integrity was being called into question.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt agreed with Dr Gonzi saying it was unacceptable the PL was insisting on the “campaign of deceit” against the government when facts spoke for themselves. He pointed out that 25 people were involved in 10 different stages in the tendering process and no corruption was found.

Asked whether his decision not to contest the next election had anything to do with personal clashes with the Prime Minister, as alleged by PL media, he denied it was the case.

Although he had “healthy political arguments” with Dr Gonzi occasionally – as he did with his predecessor, Eddie Fenech Adami – he believed Dr Gonzi was one of Malta’s best Prime Ministers and PN leaders, he said.