[LIVE] Gatt tells PAC he ‘never knew’ who his campaign donors were

Gatt said he could never stop anyone from leaving a public post to join the private. He said, he didn’t know that Frank Sammut had joined IBOL. Bunkerspot had reported that Frank Sammut, than CEO of MOBC (owned by Enemalta), would soon leave the company to become an independent consultant. It also reported suspicions of him being closely linked to IBOL, which was to be set up.

“All competitors wanted MOBC’s role and the news was planted there [in Bunkerspot],” Gatt said, adding that the irregularities stopped when Sammut left Enemalta. Miriam Dalli

He said that Grech would organize the activities while Mifsud Bonnici would take care of the door-to-door. “I doubt any money was given to Grech,” he added.

Zammit Lewis pressed Gatt hard after the latter mentioned the year “2008” – a year which was never mentioned in the PAC sittings or by Farrugia. Gatt told Zammit Lewis he had assumed it was the year 2008 because “in 2003 they didn’t vote Austin Gatt”.

“I’m going to repeat what [former prime minister] Lawrence Gonzi said because I can’t disclose Cabinet meetings … we had a presentation and it was a collective decision to grant the pardon.” Miriam Dalli

Asked whether he agreed with the presidential pardon awarded to Farrugia, Gatt said the police wouldn’t have had enough evidence to prosecute without Farrugia’s testimony.

“This is an opinion I am not obliged to give … it is up to the judges,” Gatt tells Bonnici who asked whether he agreed with the presidential pardon.

He said that the presentation made to the Cabinet had convinced him that the presidential pardon had been needed.

Bonnici presses on comments made by the police that Farrugia’s testimony did not provide any new names which the police didn’t already have in hand. But Gatt insists that the police wouldn’t have been able to act without the pardon.

“Honestly, I don’t feel to have competence to judge these matters. I always acted according to my conscious. It was a collective decision in the presence of the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner.”

“Yes, any Tom, Dick and Harry could come and give donations to my campaign,” Gatt tells Bonnici.

Bonnici presses: “So anyone, with any interest in your ministry and portfolio, could make donations to your campaign.”

Gatt: “It’s my method of control: if I don’t know who finances my campaign I cannot be accused of favoritism. We can disagree on the methodology … but it’s how I worked.”

“What you choose to believe is your decision but I can tell you that I never discussed any tenders with George Farrugia. It is a rule I learned from Eddie Fenech Adami to never interfere in tender proceedings,” Gatt replied.

Gatt defended donations received from the Farrugia family by arguing that the family had funded the campaigns of both parties and candidates. “I don’t think that donors do so to corrupt people or else every one of you should resign and the political parties should close their doors. I did nothing different from what others did.”

Gatt, asked whether he was aware of which members of the Farrugia family had made the donations, insisted that he had “never asked” from where the donations came. “I had my people taking care of my campaign,” he said, to which Bonnici said he could not believe that a candidate was not aware who his donors were.

“I find it equally hard to believe otherwise,” Gatt retorted. He refused to divulge the names of his helpers, saying that he shouldered the responsibility for his campaigns.

Gatt had no recollection of eating out with George Farrugia, although he did not rule it out after Bonnici insisted that the two might have ate together at the Waterfront.

Insisting that there was “nothing special about George Farrugia” to be treated differently from any other businessmen, Gatt said he could not remember the number of times Farrugia visited him at his ministry. He recalled one time when Farrugia had accompanied Beppe Hili to his office.

Miriam Dalli

He added that the first time he heard of the kickbacks was from the newspapers in 2013 and that he always refused to talk about tenders with anyone.

Gatt said writing to the Risk Management Committee was different from the contracts committee. “Giving ministerial direction is my duty, as prescribed by the law,” he said, adding that this had reflected a Cabinet decision on the price by which Enemalta should be procuring oil.

Criticising the Auditor General’s choice of words in describing his direction as “undue interference”, Gatt accused the Auditor General of having wanted the former minister to ignore a decision by both the Cabinet and parliament.

Insisting that it was a decision to ensure stable fuel prices, Gatt said a decision against uncertainty was taken while pointing towards Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi “who took a decision on with whom hedging should be carried out”.

Gatt said the Auditor General would have been “more correct” if he said that there was no written procedure rather than saying that there was no policy on fuel procurement.

“Perhaps the Auditor General also forgot to say that there had never been any written procedure on fuel procurement since Enemalta was set up in the 70s,” Gatt said, adding that he had been the one to draft a code of ethics for director and members; that he had proposed to the Cabinet substantial reform to the Enemalta legislation and he had been the one to set up the fuel procurement advisory committee.

”I was the one who separated the functions of the chairman and the Chief Executive Officer and I was the one who insisted for professional CEOs and management. I was the one to see Enemalta has its first full finance management and I was the one to insist that Enemalta starts preparing its management accounts and financial statements on international standards.

“I had asked for an office taking care of computerized processes … and I don’t need to mention that Konrad Mizzi had been employed for this role..”

Keeping us entertained is a cover version of Michael Jackson's What About Us being rehearsed in the adjacent theatre.