Watch: Adrian Delia Breaks Down How Vitals-Steward Took €400 Million From Maltese Coffers
Adrian Delia has broken down exactly how healthcare providers Vitals-Steward ended up taking €400 million from Maltese taxpayers over a short number of years – all while not even fully providing a service they were contractually obliged to give Maltese and Gozitan citizens.
Speaking to Lovin Malta outside Parliament just days after Malta’s courts rejected an appeal by Steward against a landmark decision against them last February, Delia was asked how he had come to the eye-watering figure.
“There were, year on year, the budgetary documents which show, specifically, every single year what the budget allocated for that particular concession,” he notes, before delving into further details.
“If you add them up, it exceeds the €400 million.”
He continued to point towards three NAO reports that showed further evidence of massive spending, including wages, over a number of years.
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Delia had riskily taken on the Vitals-Steward case himself, taking it to court under his name while still Opposition Leader… a gamble that has seemed to paid off, with courts now indicating severe mismanagement, if not worse – fraud.
Judge Francesco Depasquale ruled fraud was committed during three stages of the process – before the contract was signed, when it was being negotiated and when Steward took over. He ordered that the St Luke’s, Karin Grech and Gozo General Hospitals be returned to the government.
The government has said that while it has opened legal proceedings in an international court to recover any money that was wrongfully given to the company, the €400 million that the PN keeps quoting includes money spent on wages to hospital staff, medication and hospital equipment.
What do you make of Delia’s campaign on Maltese healthcare?
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