Speaker passes buck back to PAC on whether Angelo Gafa should testify in Electrogas probe

Labour MPs previously refused to have the Commissioner of Police testify in front of the public accounts committee (PAC)

Speaker of the House Anġlu Farrugia put responsibility back on parliament's public accounts committee (PAC) in a ruling requested by a committee member on whether Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa should testify in the PAC's Electrogas probe. 

The ruling was prompted by a request from Nationalist MP David Agius, after Labour MPs on the committee objected to summoning Gafa for testimony during its examination of the Auditor General's report into the Electrogas tender. 

In his ruling, Farrugia determined that the final decision on whether a witness should testify before the committee falls in the hands of the committee members. If they fail to reach a consensus on whether someone should testify, a majority vote should be taken.

"Majority voting can only be used when an agreement cannot be reached, and so there is an impasse," Farrugia stressed while quoting a previous ruling by ex-speaker Michael Frendo.

The PAC is currently examining the Auditor General's report on the Electrogas contract. The National Audit Office (NAO) expressed significant concern over the due diligence exercised in the tender process, noting that a last-minute Security of Supply agreement included in the tender had “significantly reduced” risk for final two bidders.

During last week's committee hearing Labour MPs argued that there was no need to summon Gafa as the NAO found no criminal wrongdoing in its probe. But Auditor General Charles Deguara had clarified that his office is not an investigative body, and would only identify shortcomings in good governance by scrutinising documents and procedures. 

Nonetheless, every report drafted by the NAO is passed on to the police commissioner for their own perusal. 

Nationalist MP and PAC chairman Darren Carabott had rebutted that it is in the public interest to find out if the Electrogas contract is currently subject to a police investigation, but parliamentary secretary Andy Ellul countered him by saying it is beyond the committee's remit to "investigate police investigations".