The Attorney General’s continued refusal to release a copy of the Egrant inquiry report to the Opposition poses a “threat to democracy”, Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia said on Sunday.

Earlier this week, Dr Delia presented an application before the Constitutional Court seeking a complete copy of the report, which has so far only been released to the Prime Minister.

Speaking during an interview on Net FM, Dr Delia said the current situation had created a “political imbalance”, with the government able to formulate positions and take action on the basis of the enquiry whereas the Opposition could not.

“The Attorney General is there to safeguard the people’s interests at law, but is currently breaking the law and denying the Opposition leader the chance to do his job as set out by the Constitution,” he said. “This is a threat to our democracy, and the Attorney General and justice minister need to take responsibility.”

Dr Delia again called for the report to be published to allow the Opposition to fulfil its Constitutional function, and in the interest of freedom of expression and the right to information.

‘Systematic manipulation of public procurement’

Asked about the controversy surrounding a €274 million direct order for an extension at the St Vincent De Paul nursing home, Dr Delia accused the government of lying to the public and actively circumventing regulations meant to protect public finances.

The PN leader also referred to the controversies around the €2 billion concession awarded to Vitals to run three public hospitals, and the building of a new health centre in Paola.

“The entire system is flawed,” Dr Delia said. “The government is systematically finding different ways to get around it. This isn’t a case of a single mistake or oversight - the government is controlling the tenders system to decide who is going to get what and when.”

The PN leader said that Edward Scicluna’s statement that he had not approved the €274 million direct order - which was published in the Government Gazette - was proof that the finance minister had “no idea what was happening” and called for him to shoulder responsibility.

‘Government creating poverty’

Dr Delia also highlighted statistics showing that Maltese consumers were paying the 10th highest price for electricity in Europe, following earlier figures showing the largest increase in prices.

Together with increases in fuel and other essentials, Dr Delia said, families were dealing with a “substantial burden” from the rising cost of living, with the most vulnerable suffering the most.

“The government said it would eradicate poverty but not only has it failed to do that, it is creating poverty by its failure to fairly distribute the wealth the country is generating.”

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