No due diligence was carried out by the Evaluation and Adjudication Committee on the company Vitals Global Healthcare prior to the procurement of the highly controversial deal that saw the privatisation of three of Malta's public hospitals, said Opposition Leader Adrian Delia.

He was addressing the press after a court sitting on Friday afternoon in which Chairperson of the Evaluation and Adjudication Committee James Camenzuli and Nexia BT partner, who was involved in the composition of this committee, Manuel Castagna testified in relation to the case that Delia opened against former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and the private medical companies involved.

"Through these witnesses, who were hired by the government and included in the procurement of this agreement, we have seen that the Evaluation and Adjudication Committee, which was meant to guarantee a huge investment to be made in our hospitals, did not investigate the company that was supposed to carry out this project," Delia explained.

"There was no due-diligence whatsoever carried out on the company, or those involved, to assess their financial capabilities. Instead, they told us that this was a company that had only been active for just over a month and with a capital of €1,000," said Delia with reference to the private company Vitals which was the first company to sign this agreement.

Delia went on to say that the testimony also revealed that the banks mentioned in the agreement, like the Bank of India, had no connection with the company. "There was simply a paper, which we have not seen yet, stating that the bank had shown an interest in the agreement."

"Another important point that came out of this sitting is that the board was sure that certain things where set in stone when they were not in reality, such as the €9 million guarantee. They said that if these guarantees were untrue, this would be enough reason to drop the agreement," Delia added.

This was an upsetting testimony, Delia said, as it showed how the government has clearly done nothing to ensure that the Maltese population does not get robbed or suffer the consequences by having to pay millions from their pockets without any assurance that they will benefit from it.

The original deal was signed with Vitals in 2015, by then Minister for Health, Konrad Mizzi, on behalf of the government.

The 30-year agreement between the government and Vitals was signed in 2016. The concession was to manage three hospitals, as well as the building of the Barts Medical School in Gozo, the addition of beds in Karen Grech and St Luke's Hospital, the building and renovation of Gozo General Hospital (GGH) and the addition of medical tourism beds at St Luke's hospital.

The company had then transferred the concession to Steward Healthcare which Delia had claimed was being assisted by former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in negotiations with the government to rake in more financial help.

Earlier this year, a Procurement Evaluation Report which was submitted in court during a sitting of the case instituted by the Opposition showed the various flaws of the deal which the government tried to keep hidden from the people. He had condemned the government for hiding the report which was only made available because it was submitted in court by the Evaluation and Adjudication Committee Chairperson Camenzuli.

The government, Delia had said, had kept the report under wraps so as to hide the premeditated theft that the tender was drawn up to be.  He said that it is clear and evident that the committee did not carry out the obvious scrutiny required to see that the Vitals could provide the service it was promising.

The PN had later requested a Parliamentary motion asking the government to do all it can to cancel the Steward Healthcare agreement, however, did not pass, as PL MPs voted to instead amend the motion.