Opposition claims government ‘restricting’ NAO investigation into visas

The Nationalist Party accused the government of “restricting” the Auditor General’s investigation into the granting of visas to Algerian nationals.

Government members sitting on the Public Accounts Committee – Owen Bonnici, Edward Zammit Lewis and Chris Agius – today wrote to PAC chairman Tonio Fenech welcoming the Opposition’s request for an investigation.

In the letter to Fenech, the government members said the NAO’s terms of reference should focus on the granting of visas to Algerians between March 2014 and September 2015.

However, the PN claimed that this “restricted” the investigation, after the opposition asked the Auditor General to also confirm whether the Prime Minister, the Foreign Affairs Minister and the Police had been aware of alleged abuse in the granting of visas.

The PN had also said that the NAO should verify whether flights from Malta to Algeria were practically empty and Algerians granted a visa would proceed directly to France. The wide investigation, the PN added, should also include the appointment of people at the Maltese consulate in Algiers and which travel agency sold plane tickets.

In a reaction, the Labour Party “condemned” the opposition for hitting out at the government despite agreeing that an investigation should take place.