Resign? 'No, I am a victim of a mounting campaign by Labour' - Tonio Fenech

Replying to questions via video-conference from Brussels last night where he attended the European council for economic and finance ministers (Ecofin), Fenech described as “baseless” the accusations of irregularities that have been raised in a report published by the National Audit Office (NAO) that investigated the awarding of the controversial contract.

Fenech hit back at Opposition leader Joseph Muscat called for his resignation over a number of issues, including the NAO’s report on the BWSC contract.

Tonio Fenech insisted that he is a victim of the Labour Party that is “mounting an attack” on his persona, pressuring him to resign.

Raising his voice, Tonio Fenech stressed that his position is determined by the Prime Minister and accused Joseph Muscat of acting as judge, jury and prosecutor.

"I am used to all this. I have had many opportunities to rubbish the accusations, but Labour seems to have decided to mount an attack against me,” he said, adding that “mud-slinging by Labour is a tactic the nation has become used to.”

Fenech accused Joseph Muscat of “behaving like his predecessor: irresponsibly.”

When asked about the NAO report, Tonio Fenech insisted that he disagreed with with the assertions.

“I completely disagree with you as the report clearly demonstrated that the allegations of irregularities have been proved to be baseless,” he stressed.

Fenech lashed out at Labour MP Evarist Bartolo who brought the issues to the attention of the public and reported the matter to the Auditor General.

According to the finance minister, the report “rubbished” what Bartolo had said about the contract.

While admitting that the Auditor General had raised “certain administrative shortcomings,” Tonio Fenech said that the report confirmed that BWSC was in fact the cheapest bidder and that all the procedures were followed according to EU regulations.

Meanwhile a reply issued by the Department of Information to MaltaToday stressed that the Auditor General was crystal clear in his report:  “such an allegation is rhetoric in nature”, and that “the facts being stated bear no impact”.

Government also added that the NAO’s report said that “the allegation that SMBC is wholly owned by MES is proved to be unfounded” and “the (opposition’s) claim cannot be entertained”.

When asked about the NAO’s judgement on Enemalta’s former chairman Alex Trantor, who according to the report had failed to “avoid any actual, perceived, or potential, conflict of interests at all costs” during the tendering process for the procurement of the plant.

In the report, the NAO noted that in the case of the Enemalta tender, it was clear that Tranter - through his employment with BWSC subcontractor Vassallo Builders - did have "financial and other interests [that were] likely to affect prejudicially the discharge of him by his function" not only as a member of the board but also as chairman.

The NAO concluded that the action taken by Tranter to eliminate grounds of conflict of interest “were not sufficiently effective, consisting solely as they did of a declaration of conflict of interest and the subsequent distancing from matters related to the tender.”

But when asked if Tranter’s resignation last February was in some way linked to any possible action he [Fenech] may have taken as soon as Enemalta was added to his portfolio, the finance minister replied in the negative.

“Alex Tranter saw an opportunity to find employment within a solar energy company and he took it,” Fenech said, adding that he had absolutely nothing to do with the former chairman’s resignation soon after the responsibilities of Enemalta were added to the finance ministry’s portfolio by the Prime Minister.