The recent Public Accounts Committee meetings are quickly becoming a bit of a farce.

The committee is looking into a report drawn up by the National Audit Office about the awarding of the tender of Malta’s gas-fired power station to Electrogas.

Konrad Mizzi is successfully managing to avoid answering several questions. Mizzi has been testifying for over two months now in a process which has been marked by the former government minister insisting on presenting 700 pages of notes on the Electrogas project, and also by him missing a number of sittings due to medical issues, and other reasons.

Mizzi missing sittings due to medical issues is, of course, not a problem as his health must come first. However, his actions during the sittings he does attend leaves much to be desired. He has managed to avoid answering many questions. The PN MPs on the committee must also hold part of the blame. Mizzi and the PN MPs have, on a number of occasions, descended into shouting matches and personal insults.

Mizzi recently refused to answer questions arguing that he did not like the behaviour of the PN MPs, and asked for a speaker’s ruling. He refused to answer questions until a ruling was delivered. When it finally was delivered, the Speaker said that questions asked must be fair and objective.

Mizzi used this ruling as justification to sidestep many of the questions put to him throughout the last sitting, saying that the bulk of them were not relevant to the NAO’s report.

He may be technically right on a number of questions asked, but questions regarding Mizzi’s relationship with people such as David Galea prior to the 2013 election for example, when Galea went on to be a part of the selection process, should have been answered.

The issue is this. With the PAC being handled the way it is… will we get anywhere? The likely answer is no. The government MPs on the committee are, for the most part, staying quiet. Politically, they must just want to let Mizzi and the PN MPs argue among themselves. They chime in when there is an issue which directly affects the government but that’s about it. They should actively be working, as representatives of the people, to get to the truth about the Electrogas contract.

The PN MPs and Mizzi are bringing up scandals and issues not pertinent to the issue at hand and in the end, the people are the ones to suffer as the PAC is going to end up losing its credibility. While the PN MPs are partly to blame for this through the way they are acting, Konrad Mizzi’s actions are also to blame. If there is nothing to hide, just answer.

The PAC is meant to be one of the most serious Parliamentary bodies but, through these sessions the opposite is being conveyed.