Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/521559
8 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 3 JUNE 2015 News PN wants action against Bastjan Dalli's company over Mater Dei concrete TIM DIACONO THE Nationalist Party has called for immediate action to be taken against Mixer Ltd, a concrete sup- ply company owned by Bastjan Dalli, brother of former EU Com- missioner John Dalli. "Mixer Ltd had provided most of the concrete for the pillars at Mater Dei in the first half of 1996," shadow health minister Claudette Buttigieg told a press conference, citing the report of an independent inquiry conducted by retired judge Philip Sciberras. "The report also mentions spe- cific trucks owned by Mixer Ltd. This is extremely damning, and the government must seek justice immediately." Bastjan Dalli had purchased Mix- er Ltd – then known as Planka Ltd – from Joseph Gaffarena in 1995. The inquiry report, tabled in Par- liament on Monday, established that the concrete of the pillars in question was predominantly sup- plied by Mixer Ltd, and also by Blokrete Ltd, Maghtab Ltd and Devlands Ltd. Buttigieg quoted architect Albert Cauchi, whom the report cited as having said that John Dalli was responsible for the government's Cost-Plus agreement with Skanska and that all subcontractors were engaged through him. She also called on the govern- ment to publish an architects' re- port on Mater Dei's structure that former Prime Minister Alfred Sant had commissioned in 1996, when he had decided to build the hospital as a general hospital. "Works on the hospital were sus- pended while the architects were studying the structure," Buttigieg said. "They must have deemed that the structure was fine for works to proceed on it." Shadow economy minister Clau- dio Grech argued that the inquiry should have interviewed former health minister Joe Cassar and contractors involved in the supply of concrete. He called on the gov- ernment to suspend its public con- tracts with the contractors men- tioned in the report. Journalists present reminded the Opposition MPs that the report al- so flagged the behaviour of former health minister Louis Galea, archi- tect Paul Camilleri, and Brian St. John – former CEO of the Foun- dation of Medical Services and current CEO of PN media house Media.Link. However, Grech insisted that the PN were not defending anyone but the taxpayers who "paid good mon- ey for a shoddy service". "The time for empty words, po- litical finger-pointing, and the government sending warning let- ters is over," Grech said. "The in- quiry's findings clearly show that people were commercially, techni- cally and legally responsible for the low-quality concrete and the gov- ernment should take harsh steps against all those responsible." Dalli reacts In reaction, former health minis- ter John Dalli dubbed the two op- position MPs "pathetic" and said they were "spinning" a statement made by architect Albert Cauchi in the "latest phobic attack on me". In the inquiry report, Cauchi is quoted as saying that the "then Minister Dalli came in and was in charge of the Cost Plus, he was everything. All the subcontractors came from him." Saying that Cauchi's statements "are a lie" Dalli said that "whoever is responsible for the bad work- manship at the hospital should be held fully accountable, whoever he is," adding that Cauchi "does not get very nice character references from the people who worked with him." He explained that the Cost Plus agreement signed with the con- tractors was "owned and adminis- tered by FMS". Moreover, he said that FMS appointed Howarth- CLS/E.C.Harris as cost controllers on the project. Dalli denied that he ever intro- duced any contractor, sub con- tractor or supplier to the project and insisted that this was the sole responsibility of the contractor, Skanska. He also quoted architect Martin Attard Montaldo who told the in- quiry that he was never subject to any political pressure to favour any specific subcontractor. As for his brother Bastjan, Dalli said that when the Cost Plus agree- ment was signed, "my brother had been completely out of the project for four years. This puts paid to the insinuations and innuendoes being spun by the PN spokespersons". Shadow ministers Claudette Buttigieg and Claudio Grech – 'the government should take steps against all those responsible'