PM overturns Austin Gatt's position on summoning witnesses to PAC

The announcement follows in the wake of a 'row' between Gonzi and Transport Minister Austin Gatt, who had repeatedly objected to the calling of witnesses. 

MaltaToday had reported a fall out between Gonzi and Gatt which stemmed from Gatt's stance in the PAC that witnesses should not be summoned - despite comments given to the Times by Gonzi earlier that day that he accepted in principle that that witnesses should be called.

In apparent retaliation, Gatt stated in an interview two days later that he would not be contesting for the next election - a decision that Gonzi has since pledged to try and reverse.

Gonzi was speaking during a broadcast address on Radio 101. The turn around in position was hinted at during a similarly pre-recorded programme a week early, when Gonzi had said that Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat should explain what connections exist between the Labour Party and Israeli tender bidder Bateman before the Public Accounts Committee.

These witnesses, Gonzi said, would include Joe Mizzi, the local agent of BWSC who had been unable to answer several questions asked during interviews by the Auditor General as part of his 11-month long investigation.

Joe Mizzi, the middle man in the BWSC contract, is firmly at the centre of the controversy, having been described as “local intelligence working in fifth gear” by BWSC management in ‘outed’ electronic correspondence.

The committee would also be requested to summon officials from Enemalta, Gonzi said. During the rest of his address, he reiterated how in his opinion, it had been established by the Auditor-General that there was no corruption - but two questions remained.

The first is the relationship between the Labour Party and Bateman, he maintained, while the other was that a number of persons had not cooperated with the Auditor General.

This is the first time government is acknowledging the difficulties faced by the Auditor General in the course of his investigation, as cited in his report where he maintained that he faced uncooperative witnesses – among who is Mizzi. “I am not ready to let this be,” Gonzi is now saying.

Gonzi said he had spoken to the government MPs on the committee, and these would be this week proposing a list of persons to the committee who should be summoned. This list, Gonzi said, will include Mizzi and Enemalta officials.

It is unknown whether David Spiteri Gingell’s name is on that list. Spiteri Gingell took part in the adjudication of the Delimara power station contract as part of his Enemalta chief executive duties, very soon after which he was “approached” and “contracted” to conduct consultancy work for Vassallo Builders Group, the local contractor for Danish firm BWSC.

The PAC, Gonzi said, should get to the bottom of the reported links between Israeli bidder Bateman and the Labour Party. He stressed however that the PAC was not the police or the courts, and its duty was to ensure that public funds were used properly.

The government had previously been objecting to the summoning of witnesses who were also questioned by the Auditor-General, with Transport Minister Austin Gatt holding the front line. Gatt has repeatedly argued that the PAC should not undermine the auditor’s work because this would ‘invalidate’ a national institution.

Following a controversial ruling by Speaker Michael Frendo allowing PAC members to call a vote on each witness to be summoned before it, these were all voted down in turn by the government MPs on the PAC.