Updated: Adds Labour Party reaction:

A number of employees at Transport Malta's Licensing and Testing Office have been suspended pending police investigations into alleged irregularities, the Transport Ministry said today.

In a statement, it recalled that on January 26 the police were asked to investigate allegations made in Parliament by Labour MP Joe Mizzi about alleged irregularities at the Licensing and Testing Office within Transport Malta's Land Transport Directorate (‘LTD').

Those police investigations were ongoing.

At the same time, the minister, Austin Gatt, had directed Transport Malta (TM) to commission an internal audit investigation to verify the allegations made and seek recommendations to take all appropriate actions to rectify any irregularity, discipline persons responsible and adopt measure to prevent repetition of the alleged incidents. The audit was conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers who handed over their findings to Transport Malta on May 25. Transport Malta provided the ministry with a copy of the findings on Monday.

"The Ministry points out that the report, that is today being passed to the police to assist in their investigations, mentions by name a number of individuals employed or formerly employed by the Authority (Transport Malta) whose actions in connection with the matters investigated by the report, have not been satisfactorily explained. The report also details how certain procedures were bypassed by these individuals. Since these details, if published at this stage, would hamper the police investigations, the ministry does not deem it prudent to publish the report until it is authorised to do so by the police."

The ministry added, however, that Transport Malta was commencing disciplinary proceedings in terms of the collective agreement against all personnel identified in the report and the minister had directed that these persons be suspended immediately.

The auditors investigated the following matters:

1. Inclusion of invalid additional driving categories:

The allegation made by the Mr Mizzi was that persons had fraudulently benefited from the addition of a new licence category without having sat for the appropriate test.

The auditors initially tested 127 cases reported since 2001 with the result that whilst 42 candidates had in fact sat for the driving exam, 85 cases remained questionable. The auditors then went further back and used a sample to test pre-2001 licence holders with the result that 75% were found to be suspect.

A number of persons, both present employees and ex-employees, were identified as possibly having provoked and/or authorised these irregular changes.

Transport Malta will be:

verifying all pre-2001 extensions case by case; and asking all identified drivers to either prove their eligibility or else sit for the appropriate exam.

2. Driving licence issued without fee

The ministry said that Mr Mizzi also alleged that a number of licences between 2007 and 2009 were issued free of charge. 87.5% of the sample used by the auditors to verify this claim had justifiable reasons recorded against issue, but 12.5% returned suspect results and 60% of the suspect cases were processed by an identified clerk who is also named in the findings on the inclusion of invalid additional driving categories.

Transport Malta will be extending its investigation in this area to other cases.

3. Cancelled receipts

Mr Mizzi also alleged that receipts could have been cancelled without the reversal of the licence for which the receipt has been issued and consequently the relative cash misappropriated. 82.5% of the sample tested had justifiable reasons recorded against issue but 12.5% returned suspect results. These receipts were traced to clerks who were also named in the findings on the inclusion of invalid additional driving categories and in one case in the findings on driving licence issued without fee.

4. Issue or renewal of road licences free of charge without justification

Mr Mizzi also alleged that road licences were issued free of charge but in this case the auditors did not find any evidence of such abuse in the sample used and the allegations in this regard proved baseless, the ministry said.

5. Cheques relating to vehicle registration exceeding amount due

Mr Mizzi also alleged that the above was a common practice but this allegation was deemed by the auditors to be "unlikely ... in practice".

6. Incidence of VRTs

The auditors investigated as well a separate allegation - not made by the Mr Mizzi - that there is an unreasonably high number of tests conducted by some VRT station or stations per day, possibly indicating that the VRT station was not conducting tests properly. No evidence to back up this allegation was found. However the auditors recommended further investigation into the matter to verify these findings.

TM will be conducting these investigations.

7. Manipulation of fuel pump seals

The auditors were also tasked with investigating another report filed by a third person regarding the possible manipulation of fuel seals. The auditors could not determine whether the changes in the seal was a result of abuse and pointed out that potential abuse is in any case restricted since new diesel engines tend to be tamper-protected.

The ministry said that Transport Malta would maintain its close cooperation with the police investigation by making available to the police all evidence that was unearthed by its auditors, the results of the further investigations that will be conducted by Transport Malta and any other documents that may be required by the Police.

The ministry also published a letter sent by Dr Gatt to Transport Malta where he expressed 'deep concern' over the findings of the PricewaterhouseCoopers inquiry. He ordered the immediate suspension of the employees and asked Transport Malta to take up the recommendations made by PwC. He said that the Authority should intensify the process to turn manual processes into computer-driven systems.

He also demanded changes in the front office and said that every year, a third of the staff in the cash offices must be redeployed.

See minister's letter to Transport Malta by clicking the pdf below.

MIZZI SAYS AUTHORITIES MUST HAVE KNOWN OF ABUSES

Labour MP Joe Mizzi said the PricewaterhouseCoopers report confirmed what he had said in parliament about abuses in the granting of driving licences which had been going on for years.

In parliament, he had described how licences for special categories were granted without drivers sitting for tests, and how driving licences were granted without payment.

He was sure, he said, that the authorities, including the political authorities, must have known of these abuses in the same way that he was made aware of them, but no action was taken until he spoke up in Parliament.

This was the second time in a few years that serious abuse had been found in the granting of licences, showing that lessons had not been learnt.

He hoped that now that the government had decided to act, it would seriously attempt to catch the big fish rather than shift the blame to the smaller ones, as happened before.

Mr Mizzi also asked for the PwC report to be made public.