[WATCH] PM appoints committee to review Vitals hospital deal

Prime Minster Robert Abela has said that a committee which will be reviewing the Vitals Global Health Care deal has been formed.

The committee will be made up of civil service officials, including Finance Ministry permanent secretary Alfred Camilleri, a legal team and the finance and health ministries among others.

The committee has been ordered to draw-up a “stock take of the whole situation”, with the PM stating that results are expected in the coming weeks.

Abela said that the committee will work on four basic principles: “in the interest of health, the interest of the country, the interest of finances, and the interest of integrity, honesty, and transparency.”

Abela’s was reacting to Opposition leader Adrian Delia’s statements on Saturday, when revealed a procurement evaluation report which he claims was drawn up simply to pass on three state hospitals to a private operator – at the time Vitals Global Healthcare – simply for the purpose of profit.

Delia said the procurement evaluation report was kept hidden by the Maltese government and only submitted in court by the evaluation board’s chairman James Camenzuli as part of a court case in the Vitals PPP filed by Delia.

Abela said that forming the committee was one of his initial decisions since being elected leader of the party and the country’s new PM.

“This the way things are carried out in a serious country,” Abela said.

He also insisted that decisions will be taken on the case.

Addressing party supporters at his hometown in Qormi, Abela also spoke about his first international duties in Brussels, where he met with European Parliament President David Sassoli and European Council President Charles Michel.

“They voiced their content at how positive decisions towards good governance have been taken,” he said.

The PM expressed his disappointment with the reception he received from PN MEPs David Casa and Roberta Metsola, stating that when offering to meet the entire Maltese delegation, their response was that of them not meeting with PL representatives.

Abela said that when he eventually met with the PN MEPs, their message was that of negativity, with the PM stating that he was faced with a lot of criticism but no solutions.

“This contrasted massively with the positive talks we held with the four Labour MEPs,” he said.

Abela also said that in his visit to Brussels, challenges faced by the country and the EU were discussed, including the new union budget in context of the UK’s withdrawal and the environmental targets that are yet to be achieved.

The PM also said that migration was discussed, with him stating that he expressed his frustration at the way it is being handled on a European level.

“Immigration has to also be addressed. Malta is facing a dilemma, burden sharing is not working, and that is where we have to continue negotiating,” he said.

Robert Abela opened his speech by stating that tranquility in the country has been restored thanks to the “important decisions” taken by the country in the past weeks.

“Normality has been restored, and this can be shown in our trust ratings,” Abela said, referring to MaltaToday’s leadership poll published on Sunday.

Abela said that the government is sending a message of unity, and its wish to continue moving forward.

“This could only have been achieved because we prioritized the country over the party,” he said.

The Prime Minister also committed himself to a gender quota mechanism by the next general election, stating that the time has come to address the discrepancy between male and female representatives.

Abela insisted that the controversial Individual Investor Program scheme is here to stay, but said that he would be open to carrying out amendments which could only strengthen it further.

“I will not remove it because I will not remove a program that only serves to help the country,” he stated.