The government has corrected itself on the way the €11 million "lost" from EU funds on the Coast Road project were re-used.

On Wednesday, parliamentary secretary Ian Borg told The Malta Independent that the funds were used in the "environment and education" sectors.

But a press statement yesterday afternoon issued by the Department of Information said that this money was used on other road projects.

Yet, in another statement, the government corrected itself and said that the money, after all, was used in education and environment projects, and that Transport Malta will benefit from EU funds that will be used on other road projects.

We do not know if there will be other corrections in the next few hours.

The €11 million "lost" after the European Court of Auditors expressed concerns regarding the way contracts were awarded were reinvested in education and environment projects, the parliamentary secretary for EU finds Ian Borg told The Malta Independent on Wednesday. The money amounted to 25% of the EU funds for the project, amounting to €11 million.

On Wednesday, Dr Borg had said that his secretariat, which is responsible for managing EU funds, had informed Transport Malta about the court decision - which is still to be published - but the entity had chosen to move on with the project, fearing that more money would have been lost completely if the tendering process had started afresh.

In its first statement issued on the subject by the DOI today, the government said that the funds that the EU was not willing to pay for the Coast Road were used on other road projects by Transport Malta.

The statement said that the government had saved €30 million on the project because it had negotiated a better deal on the original contract. The project was to cost €83 million but was brought down to €53 million.

Later, in a second statement, the government said that, yes, the money was used on educational and environmental projects, but also that Malta is still benefiting from EU funds on other road projects.

Taxpayers must pay €11m to complete Coast Road project - PN

In a statement earlier in the day, the PN said the Government agreed to pay €11million to complete the Salina Coast Road after giving up on the EU funds allocated for the project following irregularities in the awarding of the contract flagged by the European Court of Auditors.

The €11million were meant to come out of EU funds but Government accepted to bailout the project after the irregularities were flagged. Even if the €11million in EU funds are somehow reallocated - and there is no guarantee that this could happen - the project will still have to be completed with taxpayers bearing the brunt - funds that could have been used for many other national priorities. 

EU and Foreign Affairs Shadow Minister Roberta Metsola said that "it is surprising that the Government has given up on the funds without as much as a whimper, especially when you consider that the €11million will now have to be forked out by the Maltese taxpayer."

She continued: "If the Government knew of the irregularities and went ahead regardless, it is shocking. If it did not know, then it is culpable of maladministration. If it thought that its procurement procedures were correct then it should have argued its case. In whatever case, the taxpayer will now be made to pay in order for Ian Borg, Joe Mizzi and Transport Malta to save face. Political and legal responsibility must be shouldered."

This cannot be swept under the carpet

Transport Shadow Minister Marthese Portelli said "This cannot simply be swept under the carpet. If the Government thinks that an amateurish leak to the PBS newsroom is providing sufficient information to the public it is very much mistaken. We need an explanation as to why this information was leaked in drips and drabs. We need to examine Malta's public procurement processes; we need to see what argumentation was used to explain Malta's position and to do that we need absolute and full transparency."

"It is a hard lesson for this Government to learn. When it comes to EU Funds, it cannot simply do as it pleases and try to cover up the consequences. The truth is that the €11million could have been spent on healthcare, education or incentives for job creation. Should the funds be lost, the €11million would represent the single greatest loss of EU funds in Malta's history," added Roberta Metsola.

"The infighting between Transport Malta, Government departments and Ministries as to who is to blame does not interest the public, the fact remain that this is mismanagement on a staggering scale," said Dr Portelli.