Gonzi refuses to name Brazilian company
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi refuses to name Brazilian company in the middle of a political controversy in Malta.
The Brazilian company in the middle of a political controversy in Malta is a construction services company which moved its offices to Malta, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said. However he failed to name the company or reveal how many employees it has engaged.
During the Xarabank debate on Friday, Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said that despite talks of a Brazilian aviation company that was meant to set up shop in Malta, this investment never took place.
"During our last debate he [Gonzi] said that a Brazilian company was coming to Malta to work on airplanes," Muscat said.
But Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi retorted that the Brazilian company had relocated its headquarters from Brazil to Malta. "The company, active in the Libyan market, is operating from Malta," Gonzi replied.
Speaking on Tuesday at the end of a visit at Farsons's new Brew House, Gonzi said the company in question is not an aviation company as Muscat said during the Xarabank debate, but a company coordinating construction projects in Libya.
Gonzi said: "The company opened its offices in Sliema after it had indicated its intention to do so at the height of the Libya crisis, when its employees in Libya were evacuated to Malta."
However he stopped short of naming it or giving more details, saying the media should act cautiously and warned against "turning the company into a political football."