Labour Party’s energy consultants before 2013 election ended up on selection boards for gas power station contract

The Labour Party’s energy plan consultants before the 2013 general election were eventually appointed to sit on evaluation committees for the gas power station project.

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee heard on Tuesday that Maltese consultant David Galea and experts from foreign consultancy firms DNV Kema and SGS, who helped devise the PL’s energy plan, were involved after the election in the selection process that saw Electrogas win the power station contract.

Galea continued testifying today as part of the PAC’s scrutiny of the National Audit Office’s report on the Electrogas tender. The report was finalised in November 2018. Subsequently, Enemalta engaged Galea to prepare a report on the NAO's observations.

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The committee also heard Galea say that around March 2018, he offered Yorgen Fenech to draw up a report on the Tumas Group’s gaming arm. The work was never contracted and nothing materialised from the offer.

The revelation elicited some stern questions from the Opposition MPs on the committee with Galea insisting that by then, his work on the Electrogas adjudication had long ended.

“Does this mean that I can never do business with Tumas, Gasan, Apap Bologna?” Galea asked incredulously, when asked whether he felt this was unethical.

Government Whip Glenn Bedingfield reacted to Galea’s comment by telling him to direct that question to the Opposition MPs.

Replying to questions by the Nationalist MPs, the witness denied having worked for either of the Electrogas bidders before the tender was awarded.

Bedingfield accused the PN MPs of not being interested in the truth but only seeking answers that fit with their narrative.

Galea reiterated that he was a friend of Konrad Mizzi and had met him twice or three times over lunch around November and December 2012. Mizzi had asked Galea for advice on the energy sector.

Galea testified that he had attended one meeting at Labour headquarters before the election but could not remember who was present.

After constant probing by Nationalist MP Karol Aquilina, Galea said apart from Mizzi there was also a consultant from DNV Kema, Thomas Lennard.

Galea said he was unsure whether Edward Scicluna was present but could not recall whether Joseph Muscat or Keith Schembri were there.

“I don’t believe so,” Galea said when asked again whether he saw Muscat and Schembri.

The witness said the meeting was technical and he gave a high-level financial analysis of Enemalta’s public financial statements.

Asked by government MPs what his findings showed, Galea said Enemalta was in a bad shape with accumulated losses of €100 million and interest payments amounting to €23 million.

Galea said the state energy company was beset by gross inefficiencies because of its aged plants. Remembering the details of his presentation, Galea said Enemalta wasted €100 million worth of oil as a result of inefficient machines.

The Opposition MPs asked Galea who appointed the various people on the decision-making boards that were involved in the power station contract but insisted he did not know.

DNV Kema had two consultants – Thomas Lennard and John Dean – on one of the evaluation committees. SGS had Sven Lataire, another consultant who had helped the PL draw up its energy plan.