Finance Minister Edward Scicluna announced this evening that he will be asking the Auditor-General to launch a wide-ranging investigation on the construction of Mater Dei Hospital, following the findings of an inquiry led by retired judge Philip Sciberras.

Prof. Scicluna was speaking at a "Gvern li Jisma'" public consultation meeting, and was answering a question concerning fiscal management and transparency when he seized the opportunity to bring the issue up.

The minister was observing that it was useless to speak about transparency on finances without introducing legislation to guarantee it, and observed that his ministry had introduced a Fiscal Council which independently reviewed his actions. As a result, the government's budgets were now constrained to be 12-month processes, with work on a budget starting immediately after the previous one is read out.

But he added that one should not only look to the future, but also about the past, and said that it was important to be transparent about past mistakes.

It was at this point that he brought up the Sciberras inquiry, pointing out that it revealed "unbelievable" matters about the use of substandard hospital concrete.

The inquiry, he said, gave rise to several suspicions, and said that it was now time to find out the whole truth. Consequently, he added, he would be asking the Auditor-General to launch an investigation which would cover the entire period in which the hospital was developed: a formal request would be delivered to the National Audit Office on Monday.

This investigation, the minister explained, would look into various matters, including the management of finances, whether there was true competition when tenders were issued and how contracts were changed and why.

"We cannot remain with the suspicion that the hospital could have been built at half the cost," Prof. Scicluna said, pointing out that the misspent funds could have been invested elsewhere.

In his introductory remarks during the event, Prof. Scicluna said that one reaped what they sowed, and said that the first results of this government's work were now showing.

He said that the economic plan drafted by the Labour Party ahead of the general election was detailed enough to enable the new government to start implementing it from the very first day of office.

The minister said that one of the government's immediate priorities was to prove that it was serious, highlighting that there were concerns internationally that Malta would suffer the same fate suffered by a number of its neighbours and                 go through an economic or financial crisis.

However, he added, the government met its fiscal targets, reducing the deficit to 2.1% of the GDP in 2014, with a further reduction to 1.6% expected this year.

Prof. Scicluna said that these achievements had a great impact on the way Malta is perceived overseas, noting that the way representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and other entities addressed him has changed considerably. While the Maltese government had initially been treated with suspicion, it was now being received with enthusiasm, he maintained.

He said that the renewed confidence shown in Malta by international institutions was crucial, as investors relied on their assessments before deciding whether to consider investing in the country.