Updated | NAO report reveals Chris Said's' cowboy attitude' - Justice minister

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici lashed out at Opposition MP Chris Said for displaying a "cowboy attitude" towards public funds, following a damning NAO report into schemes he had overseen as parliamentary secretary for local councils.

The NAO report found that Said had "impinged" on an evaluation committees’ decisions for the granting of road surfacing funds between 2008 and 2013. It said that Said had personally involved himself in the shortlisting of applications, the evaluation of submissions, and the allocation of funds to specific projects.

"Said originally said that he would accept responsibility, but he is now trying to pass his interference off as though he actually did something good," Bonnici told a press conference. "I don't know what's worse - the fact that he got censured by the Auditor General in itself or the manner in which he has responded to the report. His response was certainly not an honourable one and he deserves to get censured by the public."

In reponse, the PN retorted that Said had never misused of public funds and that his intervention within the evaluation committee was limited to providing general direction to ensure that all local councils benefited from the funds available. It noted that 52% of funds granted under the scheme were allocated to PL-majority local councils. 

"While the PN respects the Auditor General and is willing to implement his recommendations, Muscat's government has a completely different tactic," the Oppositon said, citing how former parliamentary secretary for planning Michael Falzon this week launched a "ferocious attack" against the NAO over its investigation into the Strada Zekka expropraition case. 

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has defended his MP, claiming that his decision to give direction ultimately proved beneficial to residents. 

However, Bonnici and parliamentary secretary for local councils Stefan Buontempo claimed that Said’s actions ran counter to the principles of good governance and accountability.

Buontempo also noted that 57% of the beneficiaries of the private-public partnership scheme were PN-majority local councils, that Said had failed ot allocate a budget to the project at the start, and that some councils – such as those of Birkirkara and Munxar – had benefited from a higher rate of government funding than others.