Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/541394
8 TIM DIACONO THE Nationalist Party yesterday expressed concern over a state guarantee recently granted to Bank of Valletta to cover a loan to the Electrogas consortium. Shadow economy minister Claudio Grech quoted energy minister Konrad Mizzi as having said that four banks had refused to grant Electrogas a loan be- fore the European Commission cleared the Security of Supply Agreement it had entered into with the consortium construct- ing a new gas power station. Grech suggested that the gov- ernment didn't wait for the clearance before guaranteeing €88 million to the bank because it didn't want to fall further be- hind on the construction of the power station, the project that it has "bound its political future to". "No matter how small the pos- sibility is, if the European Com- mission doesn't green-light the Agreement and deems it to con- stitute state aid, then somebody will have to make good for that loan," he said. The most recent financial state- ment of Gasol, which owns a 30% stake in Electrogas, reported a negative equity of €12.8 million and accumulated losses of €96 million, with independent audi- tors warning that the company doesn't hold enough cash or liq- uid assets to meet its commit- ments. Economy minister Chris Car- dona has brushed off the impli- cations of Gasol's finances on the construction of the power station and has insisted that the project will not miss its second comple- tion deadline of June 2016. However, shadow finance min- ister Mario de Marco questioned whether any due diligence had been carried out on Gasol prior to the acceptance of Electrogas as the preferred bidder for the power station's construction. "Although the government is the largest shareholder in BOV and enjoys the right to appoint the bank 's chairman, the bank 's main loyalty should be to its shareholders," he said. "BOV is a pillar of Malta's economy and excess government interference will harm its credibility." Shadow energy minister Mar- these Portelli called on the government to publish all the contracts signed between En- emalta and Electrogas, as well as Enemalta's annual reports and financial statements for 2012, 2013, and 2014. She f lagged Konrad Mizzi's re- cent statement that he cannot publish the Electrogas contract as it is "commercially sensitive" and that the government is no longer the sole shareholder of Enemalta. "Does the publication of the Electrogas contract depend on Shanghai Electric?" Portelli ques- tioned, referring to the Chinese state-owned company that owns 33% of shares in Enemalta. "Miz- zi had insisted several times that the government has maintained absolute control over Enemalta since its partial privitisation. The energy sector is shrouded in mystery and secrecy." De Marco noted that BOV is a publicly registered company, with the government owning 24% and the right to appoint its chairman. "Even though it has that 'golden share' as the largest shareholder, the government's primary responsibilities are to its shareholders, which should have equal rights," de Marco said. He said that yesterday, minis- ter for energy Konrad Mizzi, in parliament, said that four banks had refused to grant the consor- tium a guarantee without a secu- rity of supply clearance from the European Commission. After these four banks turned it down, the government turned to BOV, which issued the loan after the government put up the guaran- tee itself. Shadow minister for the econ- omy Claudio Grech questioned why the government could not wait for that clearance from the EU. "No matter how small the risk that it would not be accepted, there is still risk," he said. "There is also the added risk that the bank guarantee could be consid- ered illegal by the commission." Auditors have classed the fi- nancial status of Gasol - the largest shareholder in the Elec- trogas consortium - as worrying, prompting the PN to question whether the due diligence was carried out on consortium mem- bers. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 15 JULY 2015 News Medical association questions viability of medical tourism investments THE Medical Association of Malta has raised questions about the government's plans to privatise the management of public health facilities, while also expressing doubts on the economic model and the sus- tainability of medical tourism. "The priorities established by the needs of patients should be maintained, and investment is urgent in primary health care, and the care of the elderly, so as to treat patients as much as nec- essary away from the hospitals and to contain costs," it said in a press statement. Last month, government an- nounced a €200 million invest- ment which is expected to de- liver a 180-bed "state of the art" rehabilitation hospital and a dermatology centre on the site of the former St Luke's general hospital in Gwardamangia. Singapore-based Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH) were the pre- ferred bidders for the manage- ment and operation of St Luke's Hospital and the investment will also see the transformation of Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital and the Gozo General Hospital. MAM said that currently there are 100 patients at Mater waiting for transfer to long- term care, and another 30 wait- ing transfer to rehabilitation. This amounts to more than 50% of acute Medical beds at Mater Dei. While the construction of a new acute medicine block at Mater Dei is welcome, this will not alleviate the bed shortage unless the problems in the geri- atric sector are addressed. The MAM has expressed doubts on the viability of pri- vate finance initiatives (PFI), noting that many institutions run on such a model in the UK required bailouts and many smaller facilities were shut down. It also calls into question the sustainability of medical tour- ism in Malta, saying that only centres offering the most cut- ting-edge technology and tech- niques are successful. "It has failed in the past and had very limited success abroad, except in centres using the lat- est techniques in minimally in- vasive surgery or robotics usu- ally performed by leading world experts in that particular field." The association considered the investment in Bart's Medi- cal school in Gozo viable but raised concerns about funding. "It is unclear who will be pay- ing for the construction of the facilities, and the employment of 40 doctors per year from this second medical school will en- tail a minimum cost of at least €1.5 million per year," the MAM said in a statement. MAM secretary-general Martin Balzan said that medical tourism will only be successful if the private hospitals offer cutting-edge technology 'Electrogas guarantee casts doubt over BOV leadership' – PN Claudio Grech