Parliament this morning debated last week's International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruling on the now-cancelled hospitals concession, following a government request supported by the Opposition.
In its ruling, the ICC tribunal rejected Steward Health Care's claim that Malta had unlawfully terminated the concession for the management of the St Luke's, Karin Grech, and Gozo hospitals. The tribunal also dismissed the Maltese government's counterclaim seeking compensation from the US healthcare company, leaving both sides without damages.
PM says Malta received services for what it paid for
Opening the debate, Prime Minister Robert Abela said Malta had paid Steward for services actually rendered, not for the upgrading of the hospitals. "For every euro paid to Steward, we received the required services," he said.
Abela explained that after the Maltese courts annulled the concession and the government took back control of the hospitals, experts were appointed to assess the situation. Their findings, he said, showed that the state was paying more for the same services when the hospitals were managed by Steward than it is now under public administration.
The Prime Minister challenged the Opposition's repeated claims that the Maltese people were defrauded of €400 million, saying this figure appears neither in the National Audit Office's report nor in court judgments. He accused the Nationalist Party of fabricating a new number - €488 million - which he called "the biggest lie yet."
Abela said Steward had argued in arbitration that the services it was paid for were comparable to those provided at Mater Dei Hospital, as set out in the original contract. He dismissed Opposition allegations that the government had failed to present evidence in the arbitration case, stressing that the ICC ruling explicitly acknowledged that Malta had submitted sufficient evidence and mounted a strong defence.
The Prime Minister noted that while the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation had filed submissions during the arbitration process, the Nationalist Party neither participated nor accepted the government's offer for briefings on the proceedings. He questioned why the Opposition did not make its claims before the tribunal if it truly believed them.
Concluding his address, the Prime Minister announced that the government would draft a new master plan for the future of the three hospitals, aiming to strengthen Malta's public healthcare system.
Darren Carabott says government prefers 'political spin' than admitting reality to the Maltese people
PN MP Darren Carabott said on Monday morning in Parliament that the government prefers to share "political spins" than admit the reality surrounding the Vitals-Steward deal in reference to the ICC's international arbitration case with the Maltese government.
During his speech, Carabott asked Prime Minister Robert Abela and the government to stop lying and be honest about what was said and concluded during this international arbitration case. He told the Chamber that while the Prime Minister waved the report around during his speech, not once did he quote it.
Carabott questioned as to why the Maltese government has attacked the PN Opposition so vehemently in this case when it used its same arguments in front of the International Chamber of Commerce in this arbitration case.
He criticised that when reading the report, the government was using the same rhetorics that the Opposition has been using over past years, however, when speaking locally, "[PM Abela] comes here and says the total opposite."
Reading the report, the PN MP quoted a section of the report that declared that "the primary victims of this failure were the citizens of Malta, who were anxious to receive, through a public-private partnership, better health services in a better hospital in their country."
He stated that this international arbitration case at no point disregarded the past conclusions of the Maltese courts vis-à-vis the Vitals-Steward deal, reminding that the Maltese Court of Appeal had declared that this hospitals deal was a means to defraud the Maltese people through government collusion.
Carabott also rebuked the Labour Party's claim that the Nationalist Party lied about the €400 million sum it has repeated it wanted to recoup from this hospitals deal. The PN MP said that the government claimed a refund of €488 million from Steward Healthcare - adding that, "who claims a refund on something they never gave before?" in regard to claims that the Maltese people did not lose anything from this deal.
There was no theft of €400 million - Minister Attard
There is no sentence that justifies the Nationalist Party's "dangerous lie of a €400 million theft," Justice Minister Jonathan Attard stated while speaking in parliament on Monday.
Attard stated that Steward's wishes were rejected by an international tribunal, as he remarked that it was clarified "once and for all" that there was no theft of €400 million. He continued that the tribunal stated that the Maltese government had paid for the health services it received.
"The facts are clear. No fraud was found to have taken place," Attard commented. "Their lie has faced the test of reality... An international tribunal has found that the government paid for the services it received... The country does not believe the PN."
The Justice Minister remarked that Malta has "a dangerous Opposition," one which he said is prepared to get power at the cost of anything. He further remarked that those who use injustice to achieve power would ultimately be building on top of sand.
He said that while the truth may take some time to surface, in time it always does. He added that the truth in this case is that the government took all the necessary steps to see to the interest of its citizens.
Attard stated that, with regard to the international tribunal case, the government had provided the Court of Appeals decision as well as the Auditor General's reports as part of the case, as he remarked that doing so is what is expected of a serious government which acknowledges and respects the decisions of the country's courts.
International arbitration declared that PL government failed to defend Maltese people, Bernard Grech says
Former PN leader Bernard Grech said that the international tribunal that concluded this international arbitration case has declared that the PL government failed to defend the Maltese people.
Grech chastised Prime Minister Abela and his Labour government on several counts related to this deal and its actions across past years. He told the opposite side of the House that "you were elected to be better than the PN government - not to do worse" and reminded that the most recent PN government had invested hundreds of millions into the health sector, including through the construction of Mater Dei Hospital.
He remarked that while the PN Opposition was calling to cancel this concession, the government was fighting to defend the private companies instead.
"If the Maltese people were victims, the Maltese were victims because of the government" Bernard Grech said.
Grech said that if it weren't for the Nationalist Party, "the hospitals would still belong to them."
"First they did nothing to stop the concession, kept defending them and kept sending them money, and now they are arguing that it is Delia's fault - that through annulling the contract, we couldn't recover the money," Grech said.
He noted that in recent weeks, a balcony at Karin Grech Hospital collapsed and could have killed people, though fortunately no-one was hurt. In addition, some people are pending important surgeries by foreign consultants because the national health sector hasn't received the necessary investments it is owed. In Grech's view, both of these instances occurred because the Government of Malta opted to rob the Maltese people with Vitals and Steward Healthcare instead of working with "honest" concessionaires.
During his speech, Grech said that "the government voted to give them the hundreds of millions and voted to continue giving them these hundreds of millions." He also said that Prime Minister Abela continued to defend the private entities in past years because he is "compromised."
Steward were paid for their work - Michael Farrugia
The tribunal's decision says that Steward were paid for the work they did, former Health Minister Michael Farrugia said.
Farrugia said that the Opposition is attacking the government without any explanation as to what the tribunal decided, and with no reference to the complete paragraphs of the tribunal's decision. Farrugia commented that the Opposition is acting in this way so that the sentence can be spun according to what the PN wants people to hear.
He remarked that the PN is engaging in an attack against the health system and on certain workers who were providing a service.
No rehabilitation took place in the three hospitals - PN MP Joe Giglio
"The tribunal did not change anything about what we knew," said PN MP Joe Giglio.
Giglio remarked that the tribunal was requested to decide on one thing, which he said was Steward's request to be paid. He stated that Steward decided that they should open a tribunal case because of a clause in the original contract which stated that if the contract were to cease, then they would be entitled to an additional €100 million.
He commented that Steward's case was a "non-starter" from the beginning due to the contract having been nullified because of fraud and collusion.
The PN MP said that the rehabilitation of St Luke's, Karin Grech, and the Gozo General hospitals have not taken place. He continued that the government kept paying despite not receiving the expected investment.
Giglio said that the victims of the deal were ultimately the Maltese and Gozitan people.
'Only Steward Healthcare enjoyed what Delia did,' PL MP Ramona Attard says
PL MP Ramona Attard said that the only winners from Adrian Delia's opened court cases in relation to the hospitals deal were Steward Healthcare.
Delia never attempted to recover the funds from the hospitals deal through the Court as she claimed he could under the Criminal Code.
She added that through the proceedings carried out, the only possibility that could come out from Delia's past cases was the contract's rescission. Attard commented that by revoking the Vitals-Steward contract, both parties involved are forced back to the state they were in before the contract was signed and as a result, once the rescission was requested, the government could not work to retrieve the funds lost from this deal.
She said that through the hospitals deal, Steward was being paid by the Government to improve health services, which never even faulted during the Covid-19 pandemic. She remarked that this deal could have been a win-win deal if all parties involved did their part; Attard noted that it would have been fair for Steward Healthcare to profit on medical tourism as Malta would have received its hospitals "for free".
"At no point did our health services go backwards, not even during the pandemic - thanks to those who administered the service," Attard said.
Attard mentioned that no-one ran away with €400 million as the PN is claiming and that the hospitals deal was signed in the context that previous PN governments "had failed the country" prior 2013 with "downgrade after downgrade" in the health sector.
'Government's failure with hospitals concession will haunt Malta's health system for years' - PN MP Stephen Spiteri
PN spokesperson for health Stephen Spiteri said that government's lack of due diligence and foresight in granting the hospitals concession to Vitals marked "a historic failure" that will burden Malta's health sector for years to come.
Spiteri said government had failed when it awarded the hospitals concession to a company with no medical background, and again when it ignored warnings from the National Audit Office (NAO) and later from the Maltese Courts that the concession was not delivering.
Spiteri said that the issue was not only about mismanagement but about priorities.
"I am not here to say who stole money or how much. But don't you think someone made profits? Didn't they pocket some of that €900 million?" he asked.
He warned that a profit-driven approach within the National Health Service ultimately harms patients. "When you introduce a model based on profit, who suffers? The patient, the Maltese people. That is what the Auditor General, the Maltese courts, and now this tribunal have confirmed," Spiteri said.
He said that state hospitals must be run by the state to ensure quality care, adding that the concession had led to cost-cutting at the expense of services, with patients and workers both affected.
Spiteri said healthcare professionals employed under Steward Healthcare were not treated on par with their colleagues in the public service.
Spiteri questioned how, after so many years and hundreds of millions spent, Malta still lacks modern infrastructure such as a functional St Luke's Hospital or a long-term care centre offering specialised services.
"The Maltese and Gozitan people deserve better. If the concessionaires had truly honoured their obligations, we would have had another hospital by now. Instead, the government is forced to outsource even emergency services to the private sector," Spiteri said.
While in favour of genuine public-private partnerships with private hospitals, Spiteri said these must be serious and transparent, aimed at providing timely and quality care.
Opposition tries to justify its lie, Alex Muscat says
The Opposition keeps trying to justify its lie to the Maltese people, PL MP Alex Muscat remarked while speaking in parliament.
Muscat said that the ICC ruling states that there was no theft, and that the money which was paid by the government was in return for services that had been provided. He continued that the PN fabricated this story to scare people and is now in panic mode to attempt to justify this.
He said that the government had decided to bring in a private health operator to run three hospitals. He continued that there were a number of obligations that needed to be reached, and that a number of them were achieved, including that of service, which he commented has been certified by the ruling.
With that said, he added that there were also other obligations which were not achieved, and continued that the contract was then ceased, with the government taking over the hospitals.
"This government took the necessary actions," the PL MP said, as he continued that the government took back the hospitals so that it could provide the best service to the people. He added that the government's hands were tied with regard to what could be recuperated due to the prior case.
Delia says that government used his case to stop Steward from claiming an additional €100 million
PN MP Adrian Delia stated that in contradiction to government MPs, including Justice Minister Jonathan Attard, stating that his cases within the Maltese courts stopped Malta from recouping the €487 million sum it requested during the ICC arbitration, in reality, the government used the outcomes of his opened cases to stop Steward Healthcare from successfully claiming an additional €100 million.
The former PN leader criticised how while the Maltese government is blaming him for not being able to recover the hospital deal's funds, it had used his case even after defending the private entities involved in "government collusion" for the previous five years.
PN MP Delia chastised that while the Opposition had requested for government to stop paying "these thieves," the Maltese government instead fought for Vitals and Steward Healthcare "to keep giving them millions."
He requested for citizens to ask the Prime Minister, the Health Minister, and others involved why "nearly €900 million from Maltese people's pockets" and that "no wonder it ruled that Maltese citizens were the true victims."
Throughout his speech, Delia quoted notable paragraphs of the arbitration report to substantiate his arguments, while remarking that government representatives are not. He said he decided to approach his speech this way to show that the government is present "blatant lies" to the Maltese people.
Citing the report, the Opposition MP made note that none of the decision-makers involved in the hospitals deal - such as former Health Ministers Konrad Mizzi and Chris Fearne - were brought to offer evidence before the International Chamber of Commerce during these arbitration proceedings.
On the disputed €400 million sum that government is claiming the Opposition manufactured, Delia cited an NAO press release for its report published in May 2023, stating that "the total cost incurred by government between June 16 and 2021 was €456 million." He also made reference to the €487 million sum that the Government of Malta sought during the arbitration proceedings from Steward Healthcare.
Referring to paragraph 216 of the arbitration report, which cites an NAO report, Delia read that the evidence indicating collusive action between the Maltese government and the private companies involved "renders the entire process dubious, irrespective of whether the process was in adherence with procedural and regulatory requirements" and that "for that reason, the VGH Group should have been disqualified as a bidder."
Delia questioned why the government did not offer any evidence in his open case within the Court of Appeal that the hospitals deal was positive.
He also reminded that following all this time and Maltese taxpayer money wasted, the Gozo General Hospital remains to be seen, and the total refurbishments of St. Luke's Hospital and Karin Grech Hospital remain undone.
Owen Bonnici accuses PN of distorting facts over hospitals tribunal ruling
Culture Minister Owen Bonnici accused the Nationalist Party of "misleading the public" about the ICC tribunal ruling on the hospitals concession and said that the decision had given Malta "stability once and for all."
Bonnici said that PN MPs, particularly PN MP Adrian Delia, "still believe that shouting louder makes them right," but the public knows that government "defended the national interest from start to finish."
"For years you've been spreading falsehoods while we safeguarded the country's position. The tribunal has put an end to this once and for all," he said.
Bonnici recalled that when the Labour government took office in 2013, Malta was under an excessive deficit procedure and facing a precarious economy which a previous PN government left.
The public-private partnership with Vitals was a way to secure medical services while encouraging medical tourism to help finance them - a "win-win solution" in those economic circumstances, Bonnici said.
He rejected claims that the concession was based on collusion or fraud, saying the Maltese Courts of Appeal had said otherwise.
"Had Adrian Delia really wanted to recover damages, he could have filed for compensation, but he did not. He only wanted to nullify the contract to serve his own political interest," Bonnici said.
Bonnici said that the tribunal's decision confirmed the government acted responsibly in defending the state and the Maltese and Gozitan public.
Government living in a 'fairytale utopia' - Alex Borg
The government is living in a fairytale utopia that the Maltese and Gozitan people are not experiencing, Opposition Leader Alex Borg said while addressing parliament.
Borg said that the arbitration clearly shows that the only “loser” in this saga are the Maltese and Gozitan people, as he further remarked that the government has tried to spin everything and had declared victory prior to publishing the arbitration sentence. “As if the Maltese and Gozitan people have won anything from this result,” Borg commented.
He continued that the government have tried to set the agenda and to influence people, but commented that the Maltese and Gozitan people know what they see, as he remarked that people can see the results by looking at Malta’s hospitals.
The PN Leader said that the Prime Minister is suggesting that the Opposition has conjured some myth, but that there are two sentences from Maltese courts which show that there was fraud and collusion which took place between the government and the private sector.
Borg said that the government is the only one saying that they have won, as he referred to a number of independent media houses and their coverage as well as editorials regarding the situation.
He remarked that Prime Minister Abela has attempted to place the blame on the PN, and particularly on Adrian Delia. Borg said that Delia had opened the case that won back the hospitals for the people, and the PN Leader added that he was proud to have been present with Delia, as Borg said that he always believed in Delia’s efforts and has always been on the side of the Maltese and Gozitan people.
“The government, together with foreigners, has defrauded the Maltese and Gozitan people… The people, Maltese and Gozitan patients, have lost,” Borg said.
He concluded that the government has lied, and that people will give their response in the next general election.