Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1426475
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 NOVEMBER 2021 NEWS Grech on the warpath over 'corrupt Steward deal' LUKE VELLA NATIONALIST MP Adrian De- lia and Opposition leader Ber- nard Grech have a filed a judicial protest, holding the Labour gov- ernment liable for all damages incurred in the hospitals' con- cession granted to the now-de- funct Vitals Global Healthcare and Steward Healthcare. Delia, the former PN leader, accused the government of act- ing fraudulently and against the national interest "with rampant corruption and grave negli- gence" by dishing out the con- cession to VGH and Steward. He alleged that the right proce- dures were not followed by Mal- ta Industrial Parks and the Lands Authority in according the pub- lic land under emphyteusis to the healthcare companies, and that the deal was not subject to a "serious evaluation" but illegal- ly negotiated in advance by the government of Joseph Muscat and VGH. Delia appeared by the side of PN leader Bernard Grech in a press conference on Saturday morning to explain the judicial protest. It was the first time that De- lia's political campaign on the controversial health privatisa- tion deal had been accorded the visible support of the leadership rival who took his place in an election pushed by backbench rebels. Opposition leader Bernard Grech said a PN government would not consent to paying out any liability to Steward Health- care for the revocation of the contract. "This government has no mor- al standing in dealing with this problem. We are not ready to give any money to people or companies who have clearly committed a criminal act. A PN government will pay no com- pensation on a deal that is illegal or corrupt – we will not negoti- ate with criminals," Opposition leader Bernard Grech told Mal- taToday when asked about the risk of penalties for the rescis- sion of the Steward concession. A side-letter hammered out in August 2019 with former Labour minister Konrad Mizzi gave Steward "escape clause", that turns any termination of its concession into a government default. The wording is part of an agreement in which the gov- ernment is acknowledging a €28 million loan from Bank of Val- letta to Steward is acknowledged as "lender's debt". The Labour government agreed that should the hospi- tals' concession be terminated by a court of law – for whatev- er reason, and even if Steward is in breach of contract – such an event would be a govern- ment default. That would mean that all debts incurred by Stew- ard would be passed on to the government, and the American company would still be liable for a €100 million contractual pay- out for its equity. "The NAO report shows that the selection process for Vitals had been a mise-en-scene for something that had already been fixed from beforehand. That un- derstand is the fruit of corrup- tion and gross negligence, which means the Lands Authority has been defrauded of huge millions of euros, as declared by none other than Steward Healthcare themselves in court proceedings they are currently involved in," Delia said. The Nationalist MP said it was necessary that the police launch a criminal investigation into the Muscat administration's deci- sion to award the concession to the then-unknown investors' group Vitals. "Budget 2022 is earmarking a 50% increase in the healthcare spend to the Steward conces- sion, that is €24 million more, for a total of €69 million a year. Any vote taken in a budgetary estimate vote in favour of this allocation would be rendering the House of Representatives an accomplice in this illicit deal," Delia said. Delia added that since Bank of Valletta has been processing Steward's transactions, it was obliged to inform both the Com- missioner of Police as well as the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit of all it knows of the com- pany's money flows, and stop its banking relationship with the American healthcare company. In March 2016, VGH was grant- ed a 30-year lease agreement with the Maltese government to operate the Gozo, St Luke's and Karin Grech hospitals. Just 21 months after securing 30-year lease to operate Gozo, St Luke's and Karin Grech hospitals, VGH sold its concession to Stew- ard Healthcare. Since then, the American-owned Steward has been seeking a renegotiation of its privatisation contract, but the jury is still out as to wheth- er the Maltese government will proceed with the controversial concession. Grech says PN government would not fork out one cent to revoke 'illegal, corrupt Steward deal' Nationalist MP Adrian Delia (left) wth Bernard Grech, and PN secretary- general Michael Piccinino (right)