The Vitals Global Healthcare saga that is currently unfolding in the independent media following leaks from the contract signed between former Health and Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi and the unknown owners of a shell company represented in Malta by Mr Ram Tumuluri, is once again pointing at a costly public procurement exercise with no tangible goal for the public after millions of euros will be shifted from Malta's coffers into the unknown owners' pockets.

The agreement signed between the government and VGH promises a state-of-the-art healthcare system, however the agreement is riddled with secret clauses to which the public, the media and Members of Parliament aren't privy. Following a long battle by the Opposition, the medical associations and the independent press to make the government live up to its pre electoral promises of a transparent administration, the agreement was finally published. Yet the most important details of the deal were hidden, redacted in black ink and shrouded secrecy. This fuelled further speculation that the deal with the Vitals phantoms, signed by a Minister who was caught with secret companies in Panama and a trust in New Zealand, had ulterior motives.

The government remains the political body responsible to table the full contract in Parliament, but it transpires that there is yet another way for the public to learn what lies hidden in that agreement and/or get reassurance that the deal doesn't stink of bad governance. 

Upon taking office from Konrad Mizzi at the Ministry for Health, Minister Chris Fearne, today Deputy Prime Minister, did what no other minister, in both administrations, ever did. Knowing that the same agreement precluded him from publishing the commercial details, the Minister would not take the flak for his predecessor. He sent the undisclosed agreement to the Auditor General for a full and independent investigation.

This may have been a first in our political history, with one minister effectively placing another one under investigation by the AG. Now it is the AG's Office turn to give Parliament and the public the reassurance that the deal was in the best interest of the country and that proper procedures were followed. This government has a bad reputation when it comes to reports that have been investigated by the AG. The Old Mint Street-Gaffarena saga and the Café Premier golden handshake are only two very glaring examples, but they are not the only ones.  The AG's sterling work on such reports gives the public reassurance that if something is wrong, the AG's office will unearth it and expose it. The AG's credibility is sky high. On the other hand, the credibility of politicians who should follow up and shoulder responsibility after damming reports from the AG is very poor indeed.

As details continue to emerge in the press, the AG needs to step up his investigation and produce his outcome on the VGH contract before people lose interest and let the matter lie, at the ultimate expense of the taxpayer. On their part, VGH ought to defend itself by waiving its commercial sensitivity and publish all the details itself so as to put an end to the speculation and in the process put everybody's mind at rest.