The PN will call on the Auditor General to investigate the €274 million St Vincent de Paule contract, it said in a statement.
The Times of Malta had reported that a €274 million direct order was made regarding a still-to-be-built, 500-bed extension at St Vincent de Paul, and that Parliamentary Secretary Anthony Agius Decelis had said that the listing was a mistake. Earlier this week, the Partit Demokratiku called for the Auditor General to open up a full inquiry on this issue and requested that the Public Accounts Committee meet on this issue.
In a statement, Parliamentary Secretary Anthony Agius Decelis welcomed PD's suggestion and said he had "absolutely no difficulty" with the PAC and Auditor General examining the contract.
The PN has now seemingly backed PDs calls. The PN said that the procedure used by government regarding the extension of the 500 beds needs to be clarified, and that the three PN members on the PAC will ask the Auditor General to investigate the contract, to check whether government followed regulations and established procedures.
The PN said that this request will be made given that government failed to clarify the facts surrounding this procedure used.
The PN noted that Agius Decelis denied that there was a direct order, contradicting what was published in the government gazette, and took note of a Finance Ministry's official's statement that he did not approve a direct order, and ordered a report on the situation, and said that the Finance Minister said he did not know about the tender.
The PN also noted that the Department of Information was angry by Agius Decelis' comments, who made it seem that the DOI had made a mistake in the government gazette. The DOI said that its job is to publish information sent to it from the ministries and public entities, the PN said.
PD files complaint with EU Commission
In a statement later in the day, Partit Demokratiku said that it has filed a formal complaint with the European Commission for an investigation to be launched into the possible breach of EU procurement regulations involving the St. Vincent de Paule residence.
"Partit Demokratiku believes that the Government is failing to administer tax and the country's assets entrusted to it by the people in a just, transparent, and accountable manner. This is another case in point. There are serious doubts that the correct procedure was followed in the case of the St. Vincent de Paule tender amounting to €274,000,000 of public funds going towards the building of new wards. This means that local and EU regulations and practices have been infringed at the expense of taxpayers' money."
Government responds
Government, in a statement, told the PN that government already accepted the PD's request without difficulty for an investigation on the issue.
"While asking for details and verification of process, the Opposition knows well that the aforementioned contract went forward according to all procedures and regulation. PN Leader Adrian Delia admitted to meeting the investors who won the public tender a fortnight ago and was given information directly."
The government said that Delia knows no direct order was given, and that the Public Contracts Review Board and the Court of Appeals confirmed that the Department of Contracts made a good decision.