Opposition leader Bernard Grech has requested that a public inquiry is held into Malta’s gas-fired power station deal.

In a motion presented to speaker Anġlu Farrugia on Wednesday, the Opposition leader requested that a board of inquiry be set up to look into the Electrogas deal.

The inquiry, the motion says, should look into the contract to operate and supply energy for 18 years, as well as the land handed over to the private entities involved. 

“As we all know, there are many allegations surrounding this deal and the truth needs to come out,” Grech said. 

The newly appointed Opposition leader had pledged to call for an inquiry into the deal during his campaign to rake over the helm of the Nationalist Party. 

According to the motion, the inquiry should review the political and commercial processes and decisions that have any direct or indirect link to the deal. 

The inquiry should also identify any abuse or shortcomings in the processes.  

Whoever carried out these shortcomings or irregularities should be identified. These can be people who issued irregular orders, followed them, or had knowledge of them. 

The inquiry can also make recommendations for improving governance processes. 

The board of inquiry should not be set up solely by the prime minister, but have the support of two-thirds of the House, the motion states.

These board members, it adds, should be of sound moral integrity. 

Most inquiries are held behind closed doors. 

Opposition spokesman Karol Aquilina said this inquiry, like that into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, should be open to the public.

The board should be able to set its own time frames and not be limited or bound to deliver a conclusion in any time window.

A final report should be presented to the Speaker of the House and made public. 

Grech accused Prime Minister Robert Abela of hiding to avoid taking action on the power station deal which was mired in corruption allegations.

He invited Abela to back the motion and to have his parliamentary group do the same. 

After having, over the years, backed the politicians involved in the deal, this was their chance to right that wrong, he said.

Opposition MP Ryan Callus detailed why the inquiry ought to be held. 

He listed the “secret deal” signed during a visit by then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to Azerbaijan.

The information exposed in the Panama Papers leak shows suspicious activity between former minister Konrad Mizzi and top government aide Keith Schembri with one of the businessmen behind the deal Yorgen Fenech. 

Fenech stands accused of conspiracy in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

A damning report by the auditor general showed serious shortcomings in the way the deal was drafted. 

Malta was tied to buy power from Electrogas even if alternatve sources were cheaper. 

Taking questions from reporters, Grech said that if Abela did not back the inquiry he will have shown the public that he is not putting their interests first. 

The point of having an inquiry, he said, was to get to the bottom of numerous allegations and ensure the truth is there for all to see. 

“I have already invited the prime minister to back this, now I am calling his bluff,” Grech said.

The motion will be debated on October 22.