The government should immediately stop paying Steward for the running of three hospitals which were transferred from the public sector, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said.

In a post on Facebook, the PN leader said Prime Minister Robert Abela was trying to shift the blame on others for the deal which is costing millions of euros to the taxpayer.

Abela is trying to instil fear about the fines which the government will have to pay if the contract signed with Vitals – and later transferred to Steward Health Care – is not honoured. He is saying so when he knows that Steward is breaking its part of the deal, Grech said.

Abela is saying that he did not know about the €100 million fine, ignoring the fact that he was consultant to the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat when he deal was signed, Grech said.

In the meantime, the government was paying €69 million in 2022 to Steward, Grech said.

The government should stop paying Steward and see that the money “stolen” from the people is returned, he said.