Opinion: Abela’s hysteria

Robert Abela called an official press conference last week, standing at a podium embossed with the emblem of the Republic, only to descend into the most obscene partisan assault.

This was no press conference; it was political vitriol.

He accused the Opposition Leader of being “vindictive on a personal level” regarding the case filed to recover the millions stolen from the public on the fraudulent hospitals deal.

“He attacked us, the civil service and our families,” Abela claimed.  This was a “vile attack”  intended “to scare me and my government,” he added.

He accused Bernard Grech of “hypocrisy”.  He said Grech had attacked the families of civil servants. He even accused Grech of perjury while brazenly lying that “even our children were attacked”.

“These are threatening and intimidating tactics,” Abela went on, then immediately went on to threaten the Opposition that “if they’re going to continue to intimidate the institutions… they’ll find us strong”.

Abela was resorting to theatrics to deflect attention from the real issue, which was Labour’s fraudulent hospitals concession, which is to blame for the shocking waiting times at the accident and emergency department at Mater Dei hospital.

Labour’s collusion with Vitals Global Healthcare and Steward Health Care is the reason behind the overcrowding at Mater Dei and the disgraceful use of the medical school library as well as underground corridors as wards.

Illness touches everybody directly or indirectly. Labour held Malta’s health service back for an entire decade, and Abela bears responsibility.

On Abela’s watch, Steward received €257 million when he knew they were in default of their contractual obligations.  Steward failed to provide a performance guarantee or evidence of financing agreements.

Chris Fearne knew that, too.  In October 2018, he submitted a memorandum, ‘Steward Healthcare Performance Guarantee”, seeking Cabinet’s approval to waive Steward’s obligations to provide performance guarantees and financing agreements.

Robert Abela knew, too.  He sat in on those Cabinet meetings.

In November 2018, the government assumed responsibility for Steward’s €5 million overdraft facility and a €3 million BOV loan.

In 2019, the government entered into another agreement assuming responsibility for over €28 million of Steward debts.  Joseph Muscat told the NAO “approval for collateral regarding the concession was granted by Cabinet”.

In August 2019, Cabinet approved another memorandum, ‘Hospitals Concession – Steward/BOV/GoM Direct Agreement’, burdening the taxpayer with another €36 million of Steward’s debts.

Fearne approved that memorandum. Abela was there, too. They were aware Steward had no money to invest and was taking tens of millions in loans while the government was gleefully dumping the debt burden onto the taxpayer.

Abela had the opportunity to change all that when he became prime minister.  But in one of the very first cabinet meetings, he granted Steward another waiver.

He got his Cabinet, including Fearne, to allow Steward not to present its performance guarantees or financing agreements.  By then, Steward had been breaching contractual obligations for years.

At that press conference, Abela bragged that “the State Advocate gave us a clear certificate of correctness in the way we worked throughout the Steward saga from 2000 onwards, both Chris Fearne and I”.

“We acted immediately,” he said.  They certainly didn’t. That’s pure fiction.

Abela is fabricating a false narrative.  He claims the NAO gave him a certificate of correctness. It did not.

The NAO in its third report about the hospital concession revealed that Abela and Fearne wanted to grant Steward a direct contract.  The date set for the signing of the agreement was 18 December 2020. The US Ambassador was invited.

Abela and Fearne spent months negotiating with Steward to give them a more “bankable” concession.  If it were up to them Steward would have got that direct contract.  That was illegal. It was only the late intervention of the Department of Contracts and the State Advocate that prevented it.

“Government granting a direct contract to Steward Health Care which was not permissible,” is how the NAO put it.

“The NAO is of the opinion that the belated verification by government as to the legality of the proposed restructuring of the concession was an avoidable omission”.

An “avoidable omission” is hardly a certificate of correctness. Abela was set on breaking the law to appease Steward.

Abela is duping the nation.  He portrays himself as the macho taking on the evil Steward.  He tries to elicit sympathy, painting himself as the target of “an unjust, direct, coordinated and vile attack by the Opposition”.

“The Opposition, instead of defending those who stood strong against Steward continue to pursue us for €400 million,” Abela stated.

Abela never stood strong against Steward.

In April 2020, Fearne told Abela’s Cabinet that Steward had still not submitted their performance guarantee and was in breach of contract.  Instead of “acting immediately” against Steward, Abela transferred more funds to Steward and continued with discussions.

On 22 July 2020, a meeting was held with Steward at the Office of the Prime Minister.  A set of high level points of agreement were reached.  Meetings intensified.  By October a joint position paper was drawn up.

A date was agreed for signing despite the fact that Steward still hadn’t secured financing and couldn’t undertake capital works.

In February 2021, Abela agreed to pay Steward an additional €25 million. By April, there were more discussions. Fearne proposed 8 June 2021 for signing the new concession.

On 3 November 2021, Fearne told Cabinet that “all avenues were being explored” and that Cabinet “ought to consider maintaining extistent contractual ties”, despite the fact that Steward hadn’t even submitted audited accounts.

As late as 27 October 2022, Fearne robustly defended Abela’s decision to pay Steward €80 million in 2023 – €10 million more than in 2022 and €40 million more than in 2021.

Those who supposedly “stood strong against Steward”, Abela and Fearne, paid Steward €257 million.

When a journalist challenged Fearne over the obscene amounts of money for Steward he arrogantly replied: ‘You’re making the same mistake, well I don’t know whether you’re making a mistake or doing it on purpose… those millions are going for salaries of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, cleaning, food, medicines, operations, emergencies and maintenance”.

Those millions were also going to secret intelligence companies to dig up dirt on Fearne.

Fearne messed up.  Abela messed up.  Both know it.  They knew Steward didn’t have the money.  They knew Steward was breaching contractual obligations. Yet they continued to squander millions of our money for years.

Abela and Fearne cost the country hundreds of millions of euro and caused lasting damage to our health service. Instead of admitting and apologising, Abela abuses his position to heap hysterical scorn on the Opposition Leader.