Finance Minister to ask NAO to investigate Mater Dei construction

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has asked the Auditor General to investigate the contracts, tendering, financing and procurement behind the construction of the Mater Dei Hospital.

An independent inquiry by ex judge Philip Sciberras concluded that concrete quality tests carried out in the first half of 1996 were “fraudulent”. It was established that the pillars in question, built at the Accident and Emergency Department, were built of concrete of inferior quality.

Speaking at a series of the public consultation session ‘Gvern li Jisma’, Scicluna said that the inquiry has given rise to several suspicions but that the truth must be uncovered.

Responding to a question by Siggiewi counsellor Clayton Cutajar, Scicluna sent a sounded warning to the Greek government. 

"Unfortunately, the Greece story changes every five minutes and negotiations between Greece and its creditors have become such a roller-coaster that public opinion, both in Malta and other European countries, is slowly shifting against the Greeks and in favour of a Greek exit from the Eurozone."

He said that Greece is in desperate need of the final €7.2bn (£5.3bn) in bailout funds before their current deal expires at the end of the month. 

"We are ready to give it to them, so long as they impose certain conditions that they will be able to pay them back," he said, warning that Greece will still have to pay back its debts if it defaults and leave the Eurozone. 

He said that a draft law on the setting up of an office for a financial services arbiter will soon be tabled in Parliament. He said that the arbiter will be able to make legally binding decisions on complaints of financial services products.

"The Malta Financial Services Authority acts as a regulator and provides recommendations, but its toothless when it comes to taking decisions," Scicluna said. "We want a financial arbiter with teeth, with the powers of a judge. When the law passes, people will also be able to visit the arbiter with complaints that date back ten years ago."

He praised the foreign investment that the government has managed to attract - mentioning my name the 'American University pf Malta' and the Bart's Medical Scool-, arguing that this has led to continuous economic growth. 

He said that the deficit reduction from 3.6% in 2012 to 2.1% in 2014 has made a huge difference in the confidence that the IMF, the European Commission and global credit-rating agencies display in Malta.

He warned that Malta is lagging behind with regards financial literacy and allayed fears that HSBC Malta could cut several Maltese jobs as part of the global bank's ongoing cost-cutting exercise. 

"Maltese banks are strong, and indeed recently passed an EU stress test with flying colours, where other European banks failed," Scicluna said, adding that the Finance Ministry, the Central Bank and the MFSA perform monthly check-ups on the strength and performance of local banks.