Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has admitted mistakes on the controversial Café Premier deal, pinning the blame on his government’s haste to solve inherited problems.
In his first admission that errors were made in the €4.2 million buy-back agreement concluded in the first six months after the election, Dr Muscat said the government was “ready to learn” from its blunders.
“This is not a perfect government and we make mistakes, sometimes as a result of our haste to solve problems that we inherited and which were left festering for so long,” he told supporters at the Ħamrun Labour Party club.
The National Audit Office last week released a damning report on the deal, which saw the government buy back the remaining portion of a 65-year lease from the indebted owners of Café Premier in Valletta.
Negotiations with Mario Camilleri, one of the owners, started soon after the election and were concluded rather speedily six months later. The deal has been criticised as a government-sponsored bailout for the Café Premier owners, who shut down the place on election day.
There were procedural mistakes because we hurried like the rabbit but this does not mean the tortoise did things well
Without entering into the merits of the controversial aspects of the deal highlighted by the NAO, Dr Muscat said the government would not be arrogant and would not attack the Auditor General’s report.
“We will not stamp our feet but learn and take all the necessary measures to improve governance in this country... There were procedural mistakes because we hurried like the rabbit but this does not mean the tortoise did things well,” he said, adding his was a government that took decisions.
Negotiations on the deal were led by the Office of the Prime Minister and Mr Camilleri had communicated directly with Dr Muscat as the talks went back and forth. Dr Muscat said he was consoled by the fact that the valuation undertaken by the NAO as part of its investigation was higher than what the government had actually paid.
The government eventually agreed to pay €4.2 million to take back the prime site property in Valletta. The payment included a commission of €210,000 paid to Mr Camilleri.
The NAO found a series of shortcomings, including government’s insistence to forge ahead with the buy-back despite having a legal option to terminate the lease contract by taking the owners to court.
The report also flagged the questionable decision to continue with the deal despite the owners having received an identical offer from the private sector.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com