The issue of the tender extension at St Vincent De Paule and the award by direct order (as officially published in the Government Gazette) is not something that Government can discard with a simple statement saying there was a mistake on the government gazette, the Partit Demokratiku said earlier.

The Times of Malta had reported that a €274 million direct order was made regarding a still-to-be-built, 500-bed extension at St Vincent de Paul, and that Parliamentary Secretary Anthony Agius Decelis had said that the listing was a mistake.

"The appearance of the arrangement in the Government Gazette, one way or another, does not change the fact that the entire process behind this contract has been irregular from beginning to end. The claim by Government that it made a mistake does not explain anything, and instead gives rise to even more questions."

PD reiterates its request for the Public Accounts Committee to meet urgently on this matter.

"Furthermore, Partit Demokratiku demands that the Auditor General opens up a full inquiry on this issue. Partit Demokratiku reminds Government that it was elected on the promise of good governance and transparency - neither of which are apparent in this - as well as various other - matters."

"Partit Demokratiku also reminds the Nationalist Opposition that it is duty bound to question the Government's actions, notwithstanding who is involved in the tender process, and not sit on the fence, or attempt to resolve issues via private meetings behind closed doors, with no resulting public statements."

‘Absolutely No problem with NAO, PAC review’ - PS

In a statement, Parliamentary Secretary Anthony Agius Decelis welcomed PD’s suggestion and said he had "absolutely no difficulty" with the PAC and Auditor General examining the contracts.

"It is clear that everything was done by the book," his secretariat said in a statement, labelling the €274m direct order story as "fabricated ".