[WATCH] Public accounts committee on fuel procurement • live-blog

Welcome to MaltaToday's live blog of the PAC hearing into the Auditor General's audit of Enemalta's fuel procurement policy

EXPLAINER | Auditor General's report on Enemalta fuel procurement

7:09pm Meeting adjourned to 2 October at 6:30pm, again with Pandolfino.

7:00pm Pandolfino tells PAC that after the publication of the NAO report, he carried out an analysis of seven contracts awarded - comparing the cheapest, second cheapest and final bid awarded. "Bottom line is that Enemalta negotiated a discount of 1.4 million dollars over a total of six contracts awarded. The difference in all deals closed against the second cheapest amounted to $7.3 million."

6:55pm NAO official Keith Mercieca reiterates that without the proper documentation, NAO couldn't reach the same conclusion which the FPC would have reached during their meetings. "What is now being said on decisions taken six years ago based on recollection should be taken with a pinch of salt," Mercieca says.

However, Pandolfino interjects to say if someone had asked him to clarify, he would have done so by looking at the papers.

6:44pm Pandolfino, after 11 minutes of the PAC members arguing about the NAO report and its analysis of the bids, drew their attention to 'remind them' that he was still in the process of giving his statement.

In clarifying another concern raised by the NAO with regards to a second bid awarded - always in the context of the NAO lacking proper documentation - Pandolfino waved papers in hand, which he took out from his file, explaining the bid submitted.

6:33pm Pandolfino has gone into a technical explanation to dispute at least one instance which NAO said it didn't have the necessary documentation to confirm that the cheapest bid had been awarded. However, after Pandolfino went into detail to explain that the favourable bid had been awarded, an NAO official said the report says the same thing.

"What we highlight is that, while you [Pandolfino] have sorted out the puzzle because you were part of the committee, we had nothing, no evidence, to facilitate our audit," the NAO official says.

The official adds that what Pandolfino had just said was reflected in the report.

6:12pm An argurment ensues when Pandolfino refers to a document [a memo to the Enemalta board] in hand but says it is confidential when asked to table it. However, all PAC members tell him that as a witness referring to a document, considered as evidence, he was obliged to table it. Justyne Caruana notes that it was of concern that sensitive Enemalta information was still in his hands.

Pandolfino would draft a short report explaining decisions of the FPC in awarding a tender to keep the board of Enemalta abreast with prices, costs and savings.

5:50pm "What I can say is that between 2004 and March 2011, the FPC saw four chairmen, four CEOs, two CFOs and two external observers. During all these years, the committee functioned and it never faced crisis because no minutes were held. The reason was that the committee had one function: that of opening and closing bids. It wasn't a committee discussing strategy or policy," Pandolfino says.

Pandolfino says before 18 December 2003, Enemalta didn't receive bids due to the bilateral agreements with Libya and Italy. Therefore, its main role used to be awarding shipping and sometimes carrying out spot purchases. So, during the first meeting in which it awarded a bid, minutes were kept. In its [supposedly second meeting although it's unclear] no minutes were kept.

He explains that the permanent members of the FPC were the chairman, the CEO and CFO. Then, two external observers would sit in. They would never participate.

These observers were all chief officers - one of whom was [energy minister] Konrad Mizzi, at the time chief information officer. The five officers would rotate between them. Pandolfino says he cannot remember whether Mizzi was ever present.

5:37pm Pandolfino sat on his first FPC meeting in April 2004. The first time he heard about minutes being kept until December 2003 was during the PAC hearings.

"Those minutes, or an agenda to that matter, were presented during my first meeting. And no, I didn't see it strange that minutes were not being kept."

Pandolfino explains he didn't raise any questions because three of the FPC members had already been sitting on the board before his arrival: these three were chairman Tancred Tabone, his consultant Frank Sammut and petroleum manager Alfred Mallia. [All three are today facing criminal charges].

In attendance were also internal and external observers.

Pandolfino today works at Island Bunker Oils - started off as CFO and is today CEO.

5:30pm Pandolfino, author of the scribbled notes, says the scribbled notes were included in the sealed envelope because the then chairman said they could be useful if someone required them in the future. Azzopardi quips the chairman may have been "a prophet".

Upon leaving Enemalta, Pandolfino said he asked CEO Karl Camilleri's permission to take his laptop with him. "Camilleri gave me the permission. If that was wrong, you have to ask him not me."

He confirms that his laptop contained sensitive information.

5:15pm A seemingly nervous Pandolfino, starts off by making a statement, which serves only to make him even more nervous: "Everyone knows what happened at the beginning of the year. And it involves people I know or have worked it and I don't want to hurt anyone." Pandolfino is referring to the charges brought against a number of former Enemalta officials in connection to the Enemalta oil scandal.

At this point, PAC chairman Jason Azzopardi stops him to tell him that this "is not a hospital". "Your role here is not about whom you might hurt or being prudent but it's about telling the truth," Azzopardi says.

Pandolfino agrees and starts off by saying that he read the whole NAO report and there were certain aspects of the report he didn't agree with. According to Pandolfino, the NAO report served to give rise to alarm "some of which could have been avoided if NAO had spoken to the FPC members".

He states it was incorrect to say that FPC had awarded tenders when it may have not been the cheapest bid and reiterates that no minutes were ever kept.

5:07pm Former Enemalta CFO Pippo Pandolfino sits before the PAC. He started working with Enemalta in March 2004 after answering a public call and served under chairmen Tancred Tabone and Alex Tranter. During his term as CFO, Pandolfino served under four CEOs: Ray Attard, Anthony Rizzo, David Spiteri Gingell and Karl Camilleri. Pandolfino resigned in March 2009.

Pandolfino is reportedly the author of the 'scribbled minutes', which according to reports in the media were not minutes but his own working notes. During the various hearings of the PAC, it emerged that it was not the practice of the fuel procurement committee to keep minutes. The practice of keeping minutes came after 2011. However, MaltaToday confirmed that until December 2003, the FPC used to retain official minutes.

5:00pm Good afternoon... this live blog is about to start.