Former Minister Konrad Mizzi returned to the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday, and once again refused to answer any of the questions put to him during the almost two hour sitting, citing his willingness to wait for a ruling from the Speaker instead.

Mizzi was facing questions about a report compiled by the National Audit Office on the Electrogas power station project.

The sitting continued in the similarly absurd vein as Wednesday when Mizzi first walked out of the room to demand a ruling from the Speaker over remarks passed by PN MPs while asking him a question, before then returning and saying that he would not answer anything further until the Speaker gives his ruling.

This did not deter PN MPs Beppe Fenech Adami, Karol Aquilina, and Ryan Callus who continued to pepper Mizzi with questions ranging from those specifically on the Electrogas project, to others related to Mizzi’s Panama companies, the Montenegro Mozura wind farm scandal, and his ties to China, Azerbaijan, and the United Arab Emirates amongst others.

Much of the sitting in fact was taken up by the PN MPs asking questions, and Mizzi simply responding that he will wait for the Speaker to hand down his ruling.

It was also characterised by petty arguments between the PN MPs and Mizzi, and at times between the PN MPs and the four PL MPs on the committee as well.

At one point, PL MP and Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo accused the PN of not wanting Malta to have cheaper electricity bills and wanting Malta to revert back to heavy fuel oil – the energy fuel of choice before the gas-fired Electrogas power station was built.

Further arguments ensued between the two sides about Malta’s tourism school ITS, which falls under Bartolo’s jurisdiction.

 

Fenech Adami meanwhile at one point accused Mizzi of employing delaying tactics in the hope that Prime Minister Robert Abela would dissolve Parliament and call a general election, which would mean that Mizzi – at least for now – would not have to testify.