The Partit Demokratiku has repeated its calls for the Auditor General to investigate the Vitalis Global Healthcare (VGH) deal.
It called on the Auditor General to investigate the processing of the original deal and the actual transfer from Vitals Global Healthcare to Steward Health Care.
The Partit Demokratiku Opposition has today written to the Public Accounts Committee Chairman.
"We wish to bring to your attention that as parliamentary representatives of PD we support the request addressed to the Public Accounts Committee by PN Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs David Aguis to investigate the sale of the concession to Vital Global Healthcare."
"The article in the Times of Malta of 21 January 2018 refers, again, to a claim that government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the investors (namely Oxley Capital) 6 months before the actual call for expressions of interest/bids was issued."
The PD notes that if the claims in the news article are founded, then "this concession falls foul of public procurement rules in services. A Memorandum of Understanding, even if not legally binding, was signed before the actual public call and as a consequence, the now concessionaire/operator had an unfair advantage over other potential bidders, and, as a result the state could not have got the best price/deal in absence of a true competitive process. It is also likely that in the absence of a competitive bidding process, the deal breaches state aid rules."
"The Partit Demokratiku notes that this is not quite a privatisation - like for example that of the ship-yards, but a 'service contract'. Under public procurement rules of such contracts especially the one concerning Gozo General Hospital and Karin Grech Hospital which are required to continue to provide services of general interest, denote bad governance. May we also take this opportunity to remind that last September we had also asked you to put forward a request to this same Office to investigate the recent Smart City ordeal."