Updated 4.10 pm with PL statement
It is shameful how Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà continues to refuse to carry out an independent investigation into the “corrupt” hospitals’ deal and prosecute those with a finger in the pie, Nationalist Leader Bernard Grech said on Saturday.
He said the commissioner was hiding behind a pending magisterial inquiry to justify his lack of action.
Grech was being interviewed by Andrew Azzopardi on his programme on RTK103.
“Gafà does not require anybody's authority or permission to start a criminal investigation independent of the inquiry. The police have the duty to preserve any scene of the crime and collect any evidence,” he said.
The magisterial inquiry into the hospitals' deal was triggered by NGO Repubblika in 2019 and is yet to be concluded.
“So the police commissioner is telling us that had it not been for Repubblika and the PN, the government institutions would have done nothing on the deal. This confirms our country’s institutions have failed us.”
Grech met with the police commissioner this week and said that Gafà had confirmed that no investigation into the deal is ongoing.
Grech said the government had ignored a motion filed by the Opposition, calling on the government to take Steward Health Care to court and recoup €400 million that "were stolen" through the hospitals' deal.
The motion was filed after the court's decision on Monday that confirmed the hospitals' deal officially null and void.
"Only the Prime Minister can open a court case to return the €400 million," Grech said as he reiterated his call for the government to shoulder political responsibility for the fiasco. “This is pure betrayal. There is no other word to describe it,” he stressed.
Abela has accused Grech of misleading people with the €400 million figure, as that amount includes money spent to run Karin Grech and Gozo General hospitals. He claims that the government will be spending as much money to run the hospitals as Steward did.
PN protest on Sunday
Grech called on his listeners to attend the national protest being organised by the Nationalist Party over the hospitals’ deal on Sunday at Castille Square.
“If you’re fed up with the way this country is being run, if you’re fed up with the way your taxes are being spent, if you’ve had enough of the state of affairs in our country, then come to Valletta and stand up to be counted,” he said.
Asked about the announced increases to the minimum wage, Grech said that while this was minimal, at least it was an increase which would help people on the minimum wage make ends meet.
He insisted that the government was not tackling the cost of living properly as the cost-of-living allowance (COLA) was placing more burdens on employers, who in turn pass the increased operational expenses to the consumers, entering a “vicious cycle”.
“The COLA should never be taxed,” he stressed, backing calls made by the Malta Chamber.
Asked to comment on how the PN was making inroads with the electorate, as evidenced in recent surveys, Grech said that if you compared surveys to the media house that carried them out, the PN was catching up and was now “head-to-head” with Labour.
Grech is lying - PL
In reaction, the Labour Party accused the PN leader of "knowing he is lying" when he claims that the prime minister does not want to open a case against Steward.
"For months, the Maltese government has been in international arbitration with Steward and there the government is making its case in the interest of Malta, so much so that it has already won the first stage of proceedings," the PL said.
Grech was also "lying" when he claimed that €400 million was given to Steward for nothing.
Karin Grech Hospital and Gozo General Hospital each treated thousands of patients yearly, the Labour Party said.
The government is paying the same amount of money to run the two hospitals as it was paying Steward.