The Labour Party had, ironically, refused an invitation from former minister Austin Gatt to nominate members to the Fuel Procurement Advisory Committee before the committee was established in January 2005, documents seen by this newspaper have revealed.

According to an exchange of communication made available to this newspaper, then Opposition shadow minister Joe Mizzi had flatly rebuffed the offer, saying there was no need for the Opposition to suggest a person or people to form part of the committee, as long as the committee reports back to Parliament every six months.

This turn of events is ironic to say the least: if the Opposition Labour Party had nominated members to the committee, it would not have been able to make the meal it has out of the mess that transpired, with committee members and associates having been heavily implicated in accusations of corruption. Nor would it have been able to have taken the vociferous stance that it has on the inflammatory issue.

In fact, had the Labour Party nominated people to the board at the time, it would have been placed in a tricky situation of having to accept at least partial accountability for the mess that later ensued, and which had been largely responsible for the downfall of the Nationalist Party at the last general election.

On 9 December 2004, Dr Gatt had invited his Opposition counterpart, current Transport Minister Joe Mizzi, to nominate a person or persons, with suitable qualifications, to form part of the committee. In his letter, Dr Gatt had informed Mr Mizzi that the committee, which he had previously spoken of in Parliament, would be comprised of a board of professionals who would advise Enemalta's CEO and management on its oil purchases, and that the board would also advise on the position of the US dollar versus the Maltese lira - a fundamental aspect in purchasing oil from the international markets.

Dr Gatt had written, "You know as much as I that in the past this has been a subject of political controversy.  The government believes that this is a highly technical subject that can yield positive or negative results but which must be kept at a distance and as such should be left in the hands of professionals.

"In this  view, Enemalta will nominate Prof. Joseph Falzon as the Committee's chairman and it will ask the Central Bank to nominate an expert on the subject to be a member. Enemalta will also engage an international firm of advisers to also form part of the advisory committee."

Dr Gatt went on to add that that Enemalta's financial controller and the head of its petroleum division would also attend the committee but they would not form part of the committee since they also formed part of the corporation's management that would decide on how to act on the committee's advice.

Dr Gatt added, "I would like to invite the Opposition to also suggest a person or people, who obviously have the appropriate qualifications, to form part of the committee."

But Dr Mizzi, in reply, said, "The Opposition agrees that the committee should be comprised of technical people. Therefore there is no need for the Opposition to suggest a person or people to form part of the committee. 

"The Opposition would require that the committee should report to Parliament at least once every six months."