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Government MPs walk out of PAC meeting after Gatt protests over One TV broadcast
Nationalist MPs walked out from last evening's public accounts committee (PAC) meeting in the House of Representatives in protest at a One TV broadcast of the committee agenda.
Infrastructure, Transport and Communications minister Austin Gatt, who was standing in for finance minister Tonio Fenech, protested with PAC chairman Charles Mangion (PL) that the meeting's agenda had been announced beforehand on Labour's One TV.
A heated debate followed after which Dr Gatt led the PN delegation out of the PAC meeting.
Government MPs walked out of the PAC, after Mangion proposed at the beginning of the session that the committee discuss the procedure for a debate next week on the contract for the Delimara power station extension awarded to Danish firm BWSC.
Gatt said it was unacceptable that One News had already stated this in its news bulletin, when the item itself was not on the published agenda.
Gatt called for a vote if the BWSC debate was to be put on the agenda, with Mangion objecting, claiming responsibility for the agenda as the PAC chairman. The government MPs then walked out and the meeting subsequently called off.
Inside the House, Gatt then called on Speaker Michael Frendo to give a ruling when his call for a vote on the BWSC item was turned down inside the PAC.
In a statement, the PN parliamentary group accused Charles Mangion of 'arrogance' for refusing to allow the vote requested by Gatt, adding that the Standing Orders had been violated since the PAC meeting continued shortly after the government MPs' walk-out.
On its part, the PL also accused the Nationlist MPs of arrogance, claiming they wanted to defend the award of the Delimara contract to BWSC.
Priscilla Darmenia •
Is this arrogance at its best or delaying tactics?
I think it is both.
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Mr. Gatt If you are contemplating a quiet relaxed retirement after the next election, don't , you will be so busy in and out of court you would have wished you retired 20 years ago.
Alfred Galea •
Who got the 4,000,000? Hopefully one day everybody will know who got those 4,000,000.
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The PN are completely in favour of transparency and accountability
...as long as it does not involve BWSC or Enemalta or ARMS or Mater Dei or passing data from government to the party, or....
Grzegorz Tomski •
One farce after another. I long for that day when this government is kicked out of power.
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This proves that the government side have many skeletons in the cupboard which they don't want anyone to see. Otherwise, if they had nothing to hide, they themselves would have asked for such a discussion.
Luke Camilleri •
Hush it! BWSsshhhC ! DON'T EVEN THINK OF MENTIONING IT!
Remorse? Guilt? Embarassment?
Ssshhh don't mention BWSsshhhC !
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To all irresponsible ones concerned :-
If Dr.Joseph Muscat will keep his promise, which I don't doubt, the time will surly come, and all questions will have to be answered.
Dr.Gatt protested, because the Labour T.V. announced beforehand the meeting agenda, very well, but where was Minister Gatt when the P.M. made such a statement about Dr.Said before the Court hearings?
Arrogant s and irresponsible has become to-days daily agenda, in Malta.
Bye, Bye the champions of the so much called DEMOCRACY, transparency, dialogue and so on, by the P.N.
Good day.....
Mark Fenech •
That contract will haunt GonziPN and mainly Austin Gatt forever, the problem is that others will have to carry the burden of operating that extension for them.
As usual Austin Gatt tries to blur the transparency required on this contract, and find a silly excuse not to start discussing it just because One had stated what was on the agenda before the meeting. What an arrogant man is he!!!!!
Tries to find petty faults in others, so that he will shine away what was going to be discussed on this contract when all happened when he was the minister responsible for it. How brave is he when it comes to face transparency.
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This is Austin's Gatt standard approach actually. For example, he has been in meetings where he was accused of being the corrupt little F** that he is and someone literally pointed to the 'smoking gun' still in austin's hands. Right on Que Austin marches out and the case is no longer 'discussable' coz he is too offended!
Its a strategy that is really infantile - but it works pretty well for austin in Malta - which goes to show what a bunch of dumb idiots you people really all are!
Joe Tanti •
Is this the party of dialogue? dialogue my foot,they ,meaning the PN are afraid to dialogue because they havent got a serious argument to put forward in defence of the power station contract so they just CHICKENED OUT ,no more no less. Any form of excuses or trying to put the blame on the PL is not going to be anyway believed by anyone.not even by the usual PN apologists though these wont say so in public but privately they concur and tell you that the PN hasnt got a foot to stay on regarding this hot potato.The usual arrogance of Austin Gatt has again been evident,but what do you expect of this Honourable ??? personage. Arrogance is his trade mark.ask any person who had to deal with him,even his party members are fed up with his Dictator arrogance,this maltese Idi Amin.
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By saying that it smells fishy you are making a diservice to all the Fish species.The BSWC Extension has been emitting a cess pit stench even before it was hastily awarded.
Luke Camilleri •
Something Smells "Fishy" !
And not because BWSC Power Station extension is situated near a Fishing Village and it's Lampuki Season!
Who is scared of going out for the the Big Fish ?
