PAC chairman seeks Speaker’s ruling to discuss Henley contract

The government has objected to a request by the Opposition, to have the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee discuss the contract between Individual Investor Programme concessionaires Henley & Partners and the government.

Henley were granted an exclusive concession to promote Malta’s €650,000 passport sale, before the scheme was opened to various other financial and legal services practitioners.

The request, made by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi, was objected to by justice minister Owen Bonnici who cited an ongoing court case by Arton Capital, which were rival bidders to Henley for the concession back in August 2013.

The contract, presented in the court proceedings, has not been publicised by the court to protect its commercially sensitive information. Bonnici said the committee had to respect the court’s decree.

Azzopardi countered, saying the House of Representatives was sovereign and that MPs were not bound by a decree of the court.

PAC chairman Tonio Fenech (PN) said that in the past the committee had also discussed sensitive contracts such as that with BWSC, the Danish supplier of the controversial diesel engine turbines for the Delimara power plant.

But Bonnici insisted that the government, as party in the Arton Capital case, was bound by the court’s ban on publication.

While Azzopardi insisted that the government was adopting delaying tactics, Labour whip Carmelo Abela said the debate would be held “in due time” but the courts’ decree could not be ignored.

Fenech demanded that a ruling be sought from the Speaker of the House, but Bonnici insisted that the request be made only when the agenda items comes up.