After waiting passively for three years...Gonzi asks Auditor: 'What happened to the John Dalli investigation?'
Kurt Farrugia Sat, 28 July 2007
After waiting passively for three whole years, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi wrote a letter to the Auditor General asking what happened to an investigation into the procurement of air tickets by the former Foreign Minister John Dalli, sources at the Office of the Prime Minister revealed.Auditor General Joseph G Galea’s term in office will effectively expire this week. But on Saturday 28 July it was announced that his term has been extended until a replacement is found. Meanwhile, it is still not yet known whether the Dalli report is concluded or not.
Gonzi’s dependability could be at stake depending on the outcome of the auditor general’s investigation into the air ticketing case.
A report in The Times on 9 June 2004 had alleged that all travel arrangements for the Foreign Ministry were made by a travel agency, Tourist Resources, in which members of the former minister’s family had an interest.
Among other issues, these allegations had led to John Dalli’s resignation.Gonzi has on various occasions went on record claiming that he accepted Dalli’s “offer” to resign because of case of the air tickets.But John Dalli, who had contested Lawrence Gonzi in the PN leadership battle, still claims he was forced to resign because of a fabricated report on another case in relation to Mater Dei hospital.
Ask the auditor general - John Dalli
Asked by maltastar.com whether he knew if the auditor general’s report was concluded, former minister John Dalli said: “I have no information about the said report. You would have to ask the auditor general about it.”
Various attempts to contact the auditor general on Saturday were not successful.
If the report finds no wrong doings in the procedures used by John Dalli to buy air tickets from Tourist Resources, then the million dollar question will gain added credibility: “Why has Gonzi sacked John Dalli from his Cabinet?”
In his short letter sent a few days ago – seen by maltastar.com sources at the OPM – the prime minister refers to the speech by the Leader of the Opposition Alfred Sant in Parliament on 18 June 2007, who also referred the auditor general’s unfinished investigation.
During the debate on a no confidence motion in Transport Minister Jesmond Mugliett, Alfred Sant had asked on which grounds the prime minister had accepted John Dalli’s resignation.
On a point of order the former minister said that the investigation by the auditor general had been going on for three years. “It is indeed shameful,” Dalli had said.
Gonzi-Dalli impromptu meeting
After the session Gonzi was seen approaching John Dalli and the two spoke for a few minutes. They were also seen heading to the Prime Minister’s office in Parliament.
It is believed that the subject of the impromptu meeting was the auditor general’s report. The outcome of which was the short letter to the auditor general.
maltastar.com is not informed whether the auditor general has replied to the prime minister.
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