In view of this, Enemalta Corporation, which is responsible for the distribution of gas, has initiated disciplinary action against three of its officials who formed part of the selection board when the supplier was chosen. Although there is no cause for alarm, the 30,000 gas cylinders will be gradually withdrawn.

In a statement, the ministry said the preliminary investigation revealed that the metal used for the gas cylinders was of inferior quality and did not conform with European Union directives.

The government said it had received no technical or expert advice to indicate that the gas cylinders were dangerous. The cylinders were, however, being removed as a precautionary measure.

The government said tests on the cylinders are being carried out by Italian company OMECO. Preliminary results, including an x-ray examination, showed various discrepancies between what had been agreed upon and what was, in fact, supplied.

The results of more detailed tests that are being carried out by the Italian experts are expected to be available in the coming days.

The government said Enemalta still has a number of these gas cylinders in its stores, adding that gas cylinders distributed from today onwards will not include any which are presumed to be of inferior quality.

Meanwhile, the Enemalta board of directors suspended and began disciplinary proceedings against the three people who formed part of the selection board who chose the supplier. This decision was taken after an internal investigation determined that there was enough evidence to accuse these three Enemalta officials of “gross negligence” in their evaluation of the supplier and the recommendations they made.

The company said these proceedings could lead to their dismissal as well as other action the company deemed fit to take against them. The company also informed the ministry that it had referred the case to its lawyers to possibly take action against the supplier.

In its statement, the government said it called upon the Auditor General to investigate the case.

The government said the withdrawal of these cylinders will take time and this might have an effect on the provision of gas cylinders, especially since most of the company’s stock of gas cylinders are of inferior quality.

It said that, following a call for expressions of interest, Enemalta has already identified another supplier for new gas cylinders. However, the contractor who supplied the gas cylinders which are said to be of inferior quality has appealed against the decision of the Contracts Department so Enemalta cannot begin purchasing the new cylinders.

The government reiterated that there was no need for people to panic, because there was no indication that the gas cylinders were dangerous.

The 30,000 cylinders were supplied in three batches – received in November 2003, January 2004 and July 2004. When the last consignment arrived, the company carried out a number of tests on the cylinders because it was about to order another consignment of 30,000 cylinders from the same supplier.

These tests did not give the expected results, so the Italian firm was commissioned to carry out further tests. At the same time, foreign experts were commissioned to study and evaluate the selection process.