Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and former Minister Konrad Mizzi skipped out on a crucial sitting concerning the controversial Vitals hospitals deal.

The pair were set to appear this morning in former PN Leader Adrian Delia’s case over the deal. The court was informed that Muscat is abroad and Mizzi is in quarantine after experiencing Covid-19 symptoms.

Both are now set to testify in January.

VGH had been granted a controversial concession for the Gozo General Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital and Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital. Mizzi was the minister responsible for the project.

It has been revealed that the government signed a memorandum of understanding months before a request for proposals was even announced.

The company was forced to sell off their operations to Steward Healthcare just 21 months after starting amid growing financial debt, which stood at €36 million by the end of 2017. Its CEO, Ram Tumuluri, reportedly still made off with a €5 million bonus.

An un-redacted contract revealed that taxpayers were paying VGH around €188,000 a day (€70 million a year) to provide hospital beds to the state, €1.2 million a year for the Barts medical school and a further €1 million for a helicopter service.

Steward Healthcare was brought in to replace them. They were given certain assurances by the government, namely Mizzi and former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat when they were brought in to save the failing concession.

This included a massive €100 million buyout should the concession be rescinded and a secret €8 million bank guarantee (which has since been waived).

What do you think about their absence? Comment below