The Malta Labour Party’s spokesman on public service and public investments is not that wrong when she said that the government had contradicted itself on announcements it said it would make but never did on the expressions of interest shown in the privatisation process of Malta Shipyards.

Helena Dalli pointed out that the government first said that it would be making a public statement on the EOIs on Tuesday, a day after the deadline, but then nothing materialised except for brief comments given to the media during a press conference Finance Minister Tonio Fenech was making on another subject, the budget for 2009.

Last Monday, each time The Malta Independent tried to obtain more information about the expressions of interest, it was repeatedly told that a formal statement would have been made on Tuesday.

But something must have changed overnight as no such announcement was made on the day in question, and nothing else has been said since.

On Monday, this newspaper was led to think that the government would have made public at least the number of entities that have shown an interest in the privatisation process, and it was only on Tuesday afternoon that Mr Fenech said that the government had no intention of revealing the number of firms that had approached it.

This decision was taken so as not to discourage any other interested parties from making a formal bid later on, the minister explained, saying that any public comments on the matter might have a detrimental effect on the overall privatisation process. At least we know from the minister that there was a “positive response” from interested parties, both in the shipyards as a whole and also for its four divisions separately.

One understands that there is a huge difference between expressions of interest and formal bids. Firms submitting expressions of interest normally would like to have more information about a potential deal before making up their mind, and it does not always follow that they will eventually submit a formal bid.

On the other hand, there may be other firms that do not submit an expression of interest, probably to hold their cards close to their chest, and then will apply when the formal call for applications opens.

Still, the government should have been more consistent in the way it dealt with the matter. If it had already decided not to reveal the number of expressions of interest submitted, then it should not have led the media – and subsequently the public – into believing that it would have done so.

After all, it must be remembered that we are talking about a company that currently employs 1,700 people and that a decision on its future needs to be taken quickly. Before the end of the year, everything must be sorted out, and there is not so much time left.

The shipyards’ workers and their families have a right to know what is to become of them and how the privatisation process is progressing. On the other hand, the people, who for many years have been paying for the losses incurred by the shipyards through their taxes, also have a right to know what is happening.

There was a general sigh of relief when the government and the General Workers Union announced that they had come to terms over the early retirement schemes, which was considered by many as being a major obstacle in the government’s plans to privatise the yards.

But the matter is far from being concluded, and the way the government has tackled this particular situation increases the level of uncertainty. It gives the impression that the government is trying to hide something from the people.