Ministers will not be suspended pending inquiry into Vitals Global Healthcare deal
Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi, Economy Minister Chris Cardona and Finance Minister Edward Scicluna will not be suspended from their duties pending the outcome of a possible Magisterial inquiry into the highly controversial Vitals Global Healthcare deal.
This newsroom asked the Office of the Prime Minister whether any or all of the three aforementioned ministers will be suspending themselves from their ministerial duties, or be suspended, pending the outcome of the magisterial inquiry into the Vitals Global Healthcare deal.
“The Magistrate’s decree did not pronounce itself on the merits of the case, and has not delved into facts but only referred the allegations to an Inquiring Magistrate. Therefore, the decision can in no manner be interpreted as any sort of proof of wrongdoing, but rather is inquiring further and preserving the possible elements of proof. The Ministers contend that the allegations are speculative in nature and were made in bad faith by politicallymotivated individuals and moreover, in terms of law, the decree has been appealed.”
It is pertinent to note that this newsroom did not in any way state that there was wrongdoing, but merely if they were suspending themselves pending the outcome of the magisterial inquiry. Surely if they are found to have been involved in wrongdoing, they would not only be suspended but removed outright. The response from the Office of the Prime Minister also states that the decree will be appealed and has made clear that the three will not be suspended pending the outcome of this situation.
Back in 2015, the company Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH) was granted a concession by the government for it to run Karin Grech, St Luke’s and the Gozo General hospitals. In February 2018 the concession was transferred to Steward Health Care after VGH had failed to meet a number of contractual milestones related to the development of the hospitals.
On 13 May, Repubblika filed a court application requesting a magisterial inquiry into a public private partnership entered into by the government with a the company Vitals Global Healthcare for the administration of three of Malta’s hospitals.
In a statement, the NGO Repubblika had said that in its application it had shown how ministers Edward Scicluna, Chris Cardona and Konrad Mizzi had given the group of investors behind VGH an unfair advantage in the contract’s selection process.
Repubblika said that despite there being abundant evidence of wrongdoing, the country’s institutions had not done their job and had taken no action about “serious suspicions of corruption and money laundering”. It said it had requested an inquiry to preserve evidence, in the absence of any investigation by the police, adding that the fact that it had decided to go request an inquiry itself didn’t absolve the police of their responsibility to investigate.