Mizzi refuses to withdraw allegations against Pullicino

Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi refused to withdraw allegations made against Nationalist MP George Pullicino after Speaker Anglu Farrugia ruled that Mizzi should either substantiate or withdraw his allegations.

During Monday’s heated parliamentary debate on the delayed construction of the new power plant, Pullicino requested a ruling, after Mizzi claimed that “many businessmen talk about Pullicino behind his back”.

Mizzi argued that he was referring to businessmen who had submitted their bid for a tender to install PV panels on public buildings’ roofs.

“These businessmen were disqualified because of minor administrative shortcomings,” he said, adding that the unsuccessful bidders had complained that the selection process had not been fair.

They also criticised the high amount of feed-in tariff.

Taking umbrage at the allegation, Pullicino asked Mizzi to substantiate his comments. Mizzi in turn went on to state that the Police had been asked to investigate the award of a €35 million tender. At that point, Pullicino requested a Speaker’s ruling.

Delivering his ruling on Tuesday evening, Farrugia said that Mizzi should now substantiate his allegations. Mizzi, refusing to do so, presented a letter of intent, signed by Pullicino’s then permanent secretary Christopher Ciantar addressed to the Alberta Photovoltaic Consortium.

Farrugia warned Mizzi that failing to substantiate his allegations, he could be facing a prima facie breach of privilege and the case would subsequently end up before the Priviliges Committee. The Speaker added that calling in the police did not give a minister the right to judge others.

The letter of intent confirms that the previous administration had “accepted [an] offer” for the granting on lease of the rooftops of certain public buildings in Malta for the purpose of establishing PV systems, for the production of electricity from such systems and its sale to the distribution system operator.

The letter of intent also shows that the previous government had agreed to “placing a contract with the Consortium for the rate of €0.2295 per kwh excluding VAT. This letter of intent is intended to create a legally binding contract between the two parties.”

According to a news release that was released by solarig.com, then “Resources Minister George Pullicino had personally awarded the letter of intent to the consortium to install 67,000 square metres of photovoltaic systems on the rooftops of government buildings in Malta”.

Speaker Anglu Farrugia decided that he would now examine the documents and report back with a decision.

“Hear me out Georgie,” Mizzi said on Monday evening as he revealed that the Police were investigating a €35 million contract issued just before the March 2013 election. The internal audit and investigations department (IAID) had been investigating the €35 million photovoltaic contract awarded to the Solarig-Alberta Photovoltaic Consortium.

The Police are now investigating a possible fraudulent document after a bank document supposedly issued by a Spanish bank lacked the signature.

Issued by Bancaja, the document notifies that the company "SOLARIG Holding SA (and all the controlled and owned companies) has the Liquidity needed to undertake the MRRA/M/9/2009 PV project in Malta up to approximately 4.5MW during the next two years."

“SOLARIG has maintained a banking relationship with us for the last three years without any indicidence. We know of SOLARIG's international business plann and its capacity to develop international solar projects.”

According to a government's spokesman, the Bancaja bank had already been taken over by another bank when the document was issued in 9 February 2012.