The Nationalist Party said today that it does not have confidence in the impartiality of a board of inquiry tasked with looking into the use of weak concrete for the building of Mater Dei Hospital.
In a press conference, PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami said that the presence of former judge Philip Sciberras, who was a Labour Party candidate and became active in the party after he retired from the bench, as well as his son Alex, who was Labour mayor of Msida, meant that the board could not be seen as being impartial. They stressed that Alex Sciberras was appointed to the board for legal support and argued that he should not be grilling those giving testimony.
Dr Fenech Adami questioned whether the Prime Minister was only interested in the case as a political football rather than trying to get to the truth.
He called for Alex Sciberras to be immediately removed and questioned whether the inquiry was tainted.
The PN also argued that Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi has information on testimony given in the inquiry, information he is not supposed to have. "Who leaked this information to Minister Mizzi?"
He also said that Alex Sciberras was at some point a member of the Foundation for Medical Services and thus has inside knowledge.
The PN also had words of criticism on the way the Public Broadcasting Services reported Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi's speech in Parliament. He said that by saying Alex Sciberras had no involvement in the inquiry, PBS lied to the people and Dr Azzopardi specifically mentioned Reno Bugeja. He then called on PBS to correct the error.
PN MP Claudette Buttigieg again called for the publication by government of the full report, arguing that government is selectively publishing the conclusions it wants.
She argued that the methodologies as well as the terms of reference must be published.
"What is government hiding? By any chance, is there someone you are protecting, who had donated towards the PL electoral campaign?" she asked.
The PN MPs also tackled the Prime Minister's statement that no action can be taken due to the waiver, arguing that a works done in bad faith can still be tackled. "Where is the Prime Minister getting his legal advice from?" Dr Fenech Adami asked.
Konrad Mizzi reacts
In response, Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi claimed that the PN were in a panic, "with the only route left being to fire personal attacks against respected members of the judiciary".
"After the Opposition Leader chose to attack the whistleblower who revealed an act related to corruption, the Opposition today again launched attacks to undermine an independent inquiry regarding the inferior quality of concrete in Mater Dei. What does the Opposition want to hide?"
"Alex Sciberras is not the Secretary of the FMS Board, however was assigned to give legal support after the inquiry asked for this and is moving under the direction of the inquiry".
"The true story that the Opposition is trying to hide is that in Mater Dei Hospital, and in particular in the emergency ward, an inferior form of concrete was used. This result was found through a technical analysis by an independent international company who also found another problem. From estimates given by experts, around 30 million euros will need to be spent in order to fix the problem".