Speaking during a political meeting in Rabat, Dr Sant said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi last Sunday had said that 1,000 doors (actually Dr Gonzi said there were 900) had been ordered instead of the 400 there were on plan. He continued that two days later, the Foundation for Medical Services (FMS), which is responsible for the project coordination, said it had ordered the 1,000 doors rather than 400. This is the utter confusion that is surrounding this project, he said.

Dr Sant said the MLP has been saying from the very beginning that the agreement the government signed with Skanksa in 2000 was not in the best interest of the country. This agreement gave the facility to the contractor to increase the expenses as much as it wanted and still got paid for the expenses that were not budgeted for.

Dr Sant said the MLP already publicly criticised the way certain people were appointed to negotiate with Skanksa. Among these, Dr Sant mentioned architect Paul Camilleri who was once the deputy chairman of the FMS and who is being paid Lm43 an hour. Mr Camilleri, as well as another member of the team of negotiators appointed by direct order are both cousins of Dr Gonzi’s, he claimed.

He said that there was a lot of confusion about what was really happening. This either means Dr Gonzi is misinterpreting the information he is being given or else he has been given incorrect information, he said.

Dr Sant continued that while the Mater Dei Hospital was taking so long to finish, a hospital in England which is one-third larger than the Mater Dei was completed in just four years.