'Full control over corruption not possible' - Austin Gatt

No government can keep corruption fully at bay, no matter how many controls it imposes to quell it, former resources minister Austin Gatt claimed.

“The nature of corruption isn’t about shortcomings in papers and writing, but about discretion,” Gatt, the minister formerly responsible for Enemalta, told a Public Accounts Committee session investigating Enemalta’s past fuel procurement. “I fully agree that the fuel procurement committee should have formally kept its minutes, and I’d have given a ministerial directive for them to have done so had I known that they weren’t written properly. However, the fact that they didn’t formally keep minutes isn’t in itself a sign of corruption. Minutes are formally written at the Lands Department, but can anybody truly ensure that it is free of corruption?”

When pressed by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici, Gatt said that many people believe that there was something corrupt about the Gaffarena expropriation and Café Premier cases. Bonnici retorted that “rampant corruption” took place under Gatt’s watch – which included the charging of people in court in relation to the oil procurement scandal, and the granting of a presidential pardon to oil trader George Farrugia.

“Every country has its own system to prevent corruption, and yet cases keep popping up,” Gatt said. “No minister is a superman, capable of removing it entirely. The real shame is that politicians keep blaming the opposite party, rather than putting their heads together to tackle the true roots of corruption.”

Throughout his grilling, Gatt repeatedly insisted that he would have gone straight to the Police Commissioner had he been made aware of any wrongdoing regarding oil procurement at Enemalta, just as he had done when he had suspected foul play over a €26 million IT contract for Mater Dei.  

However, towards the end of the session, Labour MP Deborah Schembri questioned how Gatt could possibly have been unaware of all the wrongdoing that was occurring under his watch. She quizzed him on what responsibility he, as the minister responsible at the time, should have shouldered.

Gatt responded that the law is quite clear in where responsibility starts and ends, and “god forbid that a minister doesn’t abide by the law”. Pressing harder, Schembri said that Gatt was responsible for improving Enemalta’s internal structures to prevent corruption, “something that goes beyond the letter of the law”. Gatt agreed that Enemalta’s structures should have been improved, but that a proposal to do just that had been turned down by the finance ministry due to funding problems.  

When questioned, he described former Enemalta chairman Tancred Tabone as an “experienced chairman who knew how to handle a board, if perhaps a little too hands-on”. On Frank Sammut, who has also been arraigned in court in relation with the oil scandal, Gatt responded that he had been employed as a consultant on issues relating to the storage of data at Enemalta.

“Anybody who committed wrongdoing and betrayed my trust should be punished severely by the law,” Gatt said, while denying that he had cast a blind eye on corrupt practices. 

20:08 Austin Gatt's testimony is over. The government and Opposition MPs will now discuss who the next witness will be. Tim Diacono

20:05 Bonnici refutes suggestions made by Malta Independent journalist Duncan Barry, that he “took umbrage” over Gatt’s assertion that he had to rely on a newspaper report over the oil scandal. “I did not take umbrage at it,” he said, calling on the Malta Independent to edit that part out. Tim Diacono

20:03 Bonnici asks whether he ever met pardoned oil trader George Farrugia since he left his tenure as minister, Gatt denies this, adding that his contact with politicians is limited to a wave to those he meets in the street. Tim Diacono

20:00 Schembri asks whether there was anything that he, as minister, should have done better. Gatt says that he’d have ensured that procedures were written down had he known. “It’s so obvious that it didn’t even occur to me that the minutes weren’t being written down,” he said. Tim Diacono

19:59 Labour MP Deborah Schembri steps in for the first time, asking Gatt whether he should have shouldered any responsibility for the ongoings at Enemalta, casting doubt that he hadn’t realized that “Malta’s biggest scandal” was occurring right under his nose. Gatt says that law states where responsibility starts and ends. “God forbid a miniter ignores the law,” he says. Schembri: “It’s also about political responsibility. You had the responsibility to introduce structures to prevent corruption- things that go beyond the letter of the law.” Gatt says that Enemalta’s structures should have been improved, and that a proposal to do so had been rejected by former finance minister Tonio Fenech. Tim Diacono

19:56 Gatt says that corruption is possible, no matter how many controls are imposed. “Just because minutes weren’t written, doesn’t mean that it’s a sign of corruption. I agree that minutes should have been written, but look at Lands…their minutes are written down, but can you ensure that no corruption takes place there? He say that “hints of corruption” have occurred under the current government- just as the Gaffarena expropriation controversy and the Café Premier one. “Many people think corruption was involved there,” he says. Bonnici is having none of it. “There was rampant corruption under your, with people being charged in court and a presidential pardon being received, and you are bringing these up.” “No one is a superman and remove corruption entirely,” Gatt responds. “Corruption isn’t about papers and writing, but about discretion. Every country has their own systems, but cases keep on popping up. The shame is that politicians often keep on blaming each other, rather than tackling the true root of corruption.” Tim Diacono

19:40 Bonnici asks why he replaced Tabone as chairman. Gatt says that, after two years, Tabone had told him that he wanted to leave. On his replacement, Alex Tranter, Gatt says that he hadn’t known him at all before his appointment but that he was a good chairman. He praises him for not being hands on, arguing that chairmen shoudnt be hands-on. Tim Diacono

19:32 Bonnici asks Gatt for his assessment of Tabone’s tenure at Enemalta. “He was an experienced chairman who knew how to handle a board,” gatt says. “Perhaps he might have been too hands on.” Tim Diacono

19:25 “If I had known that the procedures weren’t in writing, I’d have given a ministerial direction for them to be written as Fenech hd rightly done so. Nobody had informed me that the procedures weren’t written though.” Tim Diacono

19:20 He asks whether he had known whether Frank Sammut was Tabone’s consultant. He says that he knew that he was a consultant solely on the storage of data at Enemalta. Tim Diacono

19:15 He asks whether he had known whether Frank Sammut was Tabone’s consultant. He says that he knew that he was a consultant solely on the storage of data at Enemalta. Tim Diacono

19:07 He insists that he always complained directly to the Police Commissioner whenever he thought something was wrong. He says that anyone who is found guilty of wrongoing by the court should be punished severely. He recounts how he had complained to the Police Commissioner when he had suspicion of wrong-doing related to a multi-million tender for an IT system at Mater Dei. The person involved ende dup arraigned. Tim Diacono

19:05 Questions turn to ex-Enemalta chairman Tancred Tabone. Bonnici ask whether Tabine remained chairman of MOBC once it became a subsidiary of Enemalta, and Gatt responds in the affirmative. Tim Diacono

19:03 Bonnici says that Enemalta had typed down its minutes while it was buying oil from Libya and shortly afterwards, and that such typed minutes “disappeared” as soon as Enemalta entered the free market. He asks whether it was a coincidence. Gatt says that he’d have taken immediate action if he had ever discovered that the minutes were not being kept properly. Tim Diacono

18:59 Bonnici asked whether Enemalta controls had to be harshened when it moved into a free market, rather than purchasing directly from Libya. Gatt responds that controls had be different. Tim Diacono

18:56 Gatt recounts that there was a committee of contracts at Enemalta to deal with tenders. “When a Labour government set up Enemalta in the 70s, they somehow inserted a clause rendering Enemalta fully autonomous in buying oil, unless the government was to step in.” Tim Diacono

18:51 Bonnici questioned whether Enemalta bought crude oil to produce electricity from the market, rather than from direct sources in Libya, before 2000. Gatt says that he is sure that they did so after 2001, and that he thinks they did so before that. “I read a report saying that it was bought competitively before 2001, but its too far back to remember with full certainty,” he said. Tim Diacono

18:45 Justice Minister Owen Bonnici questioned Gatt on what his priorities were upon becoming minister,. Gtt responds that they involved the planning towards EU accession, the closure of the Marsa power station, and problems related to management at Enemalta. “In 2003, Enemalta had hardly any senior management- the roles often occupied by engineers who may have been brilliant engineers, but not so managers.” Tim Diacono

18:45 Welcome to MaltaToday's coverage of the Public Accounts Committee, where former resources minister Austin Gatt will be grilled in relation to the Auditor General's report on Enemalta's fuel procurement. Tim Diacono