For all the celebrations marking Malta’s accession to the euro zone, Malta is the only country in the euro zone whose accounts for 2006 have not yet been audited and signed, informed sources told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

The reason is that Malta has still not replaced Auditor General Joseph G Galea whose second term came to an end last July. Since then, the government and the Opposition have been unable to agree on Mr Galea’s successor, especially in these tense pre-election times.

Mr Galea has been helping out at the National Audit Office but since he has officially resigned he cannot sign any official NAO document.

This came to light at the press conference at which Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi “rehabilitated” John Dalli from the charges that in a way had led to his resignation in July 2004. Dr Gonzi said that since Mr Galea could not sign the report on Mr Dalli, he (Dr Gonzi) had taken the initiative to declare Mr Dalli not guilty as charged.

But there was more to the non-appointment of a new auditor than just Mr Dalli’s case. In a press release issued on 5 February 2007, the NAO had said that the report presented to Parliament, the annual report on the Work and Activities of the National Audit Office for the year 2006, would be the last such report in Mr Galea’s term.

In other words, it was not just the Annual Report nor the John Dalli report that was put on the back burner, but also the many reports the Audit Office issues throughout the year, as well as the audited accounts of the country at such a delicate time as accession to the euro zone.