Opposition leader Alfred Sant on Wednesday called on the Prime Minister to explain his position clearly relating to Urban Development and Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett, who has been embroiled in a controversy about two employees found guilty of bribery and who were retained in employment by the Malta Transport Authority (ADT).
The Labour leader also said the time had come for Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to make a full statement about the facts relating to the many cases of bribery and corruption which had come into the open over the past weeks.
Speaking on the adjournment in parliament, Dr Sant explained how, over the past days, it had become clear that Mr Mugliett had lied to parliament when, on 2 July, he declared that the decision to retain in employment the two ADT employees found guilty of bribery had been taken collectively.
Mr Mugliett’s statement was given the lie in public by the chairman of the ADT, who said that that decision had not been taken collectively. What had happened, Dr Sant said, was that the minister had contacted the executive head of the ADT and told him what to do relating to the two convicted employees.
It had since transpired, Dr Sant said, that even as Mr Mugliett was uttering this lie in parliament, he had just offered his resignation to the Prime Minister and was waiting for a reply from Dr Gonzi. And from what Mr Mugliett said, the Prime Minister had told him he was not accepting the resignation offer.
Had the Prime Minister rejected the resignation offer because the minister had told him, as he told parliament, that the decision was taken collectively, when they knew now that this was a lie?
Dr Sant said the public rightly expected the Prime Minister to say exactly what had happened and explain why he had not accepted Mr Mugliett’s resignation offer. If the minister had lied not only to parliament but also to the Prime Minister, it would mean an attack on Dr Gonzi’s decision to refuse the offer. It should have been natural for Dr Gonzi to make a statement about Mr Mugliett’s case.
Dr Sant said that in light of the corruption and bribery cases of the last weeks, the time had come for the Prime Minister, deputy prime minister Tonio Borg or the government collectively, to make a statement about these cases.
The Labour leader mentioned the bribery cases in the department of social security, and the Maritime Authority, and the serious corruption allegations made by former Nationalist MP Frank Portelli about the new hospital.
The Labour opposition, Dr Sant said, was under the impression that after the inauguration of the hospital on 29 June, the Prime Minister would be making a statement in parliament to say how matters stood. When the Prime Minister, three years ago reached agreement with Skanska about the hospital, he had made a statement in parliament.
The opposition understood that the Prime Minister would be making another statement after the inauguration and thought it would be informed of this beforehand, so as to prepare its questions. If he was understanding correctly, however, the government was withdrawing the natural and normal offer of a democracy for Dr Gonzi to make such a statement.
Protesting about this, Dr Sant wondered what was keeping the Prime Minister from making a full and clear statement about what had happened exactly on 29 June so that the people would know all the facts and matters would not remain obscure, as they were.