PN health spokesman Claudio Grech this morning called on the government to agree to parliamentary scrutiny about weak concrete having been used in parts of Mater Dei Hospital.

Mr Grech told a press conference that while the PN insists that whoever was responsible for any wrongdoing should be held accountable, it could not understand the government's attitude of wanting to block parliamentary scrutiny.

He said that such investigations should not be conducted by newspapers or boards appointed by a minister but by parliament.

While stating that no one had ever seen the concrete tests the government had ordered, it should be a priority that whatever decision was taken by the government was such as to ensure that no EU funds allocated to the hospital were lost, Mr Grech said. 

GOVERNMENT REPLY 

In a reply, the Ministry of Health said it should be the competent authorities, not the politicians, who should first study the claims about inferior concrete.

It wondered why Mr Grech wanted the politicians to take the place of the competent authorities, when those politicians could have been part of the hospital building process.

The ministry said the authorities would be allowed to reach their own conclusions. It pointed out that an external inquiry IS analysing civil and criminal liability and will be cooperating with the police on the matter.

Detailed studies are also being made by a specialised company.

Parliamentary scrutiny should be made at the opportune time once the investigations were compete, the ministry said, as which time, political responsibility should be borne, as well as commercial and technical responsibility.