Ronald Mizzi used Projects Malta to conceal his involvement in hospital decisions

Permanent Secretary Ronald Mizzi dictated everything that needed to be done in relation to the corrupt multi-billion-dollar deal between Vitals/Steward and the government, even though those instructions conflicted with Projects Malta, a magisterial investigation has found.

Mizzi selected Ganado Advocates to prepare the original request for proposal (RfP) for the “bogus” contract. He also carefully selected all members of the project management, evaluation and negotiation committees, much to the frustration of top management at Projects Malta, a government instrument used as a conduit for agreements between hospitals.

Nevertheless, correspondence revealed during the investigation shows that, despite all his direct interventions, Ronald Mizzi tried to cover his tracks by demanding that Projects Malta’s executive chairman, Adrian Said, formalize the appointment of people close to Konrad Mizzi.

“Projects Malta was only informed of the announcement of the RfP on March 17, 2015. It does not appear to have been directly involved in advising on the content or development of the RfP or in appointing Ganado spokespeople. They were not directly involved in the selection of the various committees and boards that determined the direction and outcome of the RfP process, as evidenced by correspondence on these matters between Projects Malta and Ministry officials (Ronald Mizzi),” the investigation found.

“When the members of the Evaluation Committee were appointed by Permanent Secretary Ronald Mizzi, they effectively answered to Ronald Mizzi and not to Adrian Said.”

Said signed all the nominations and was the executive chairman of Projects Malta at the time, but no criminal charges were brought against him.

Correspondence included in the investigation shows that Said was dissatisfied with the course of events and felt that his organization was being weakened.

In several email exchanges, Said lamented that Projects Malta, which was supposed to manage the process, had “no insight” into what was happening. He also insisted that once Mizzi made all the decisions, he should own them.

Despite this, Said did not resign and later issued all nomination letters and direct orders as recommended by the ministry.

Hearing of Said’s frustration, lawyer Aron Mifsud Bonnici, board director of Projects Malta and disgraced right-hand man of former minister Konrad Mizzi, told Said that he should speak to the minister.

Ronald Mizzi’s bands

Although he officially appeared to have been appointed by Projects Malta, the investigation revealed that Ronald Mizzi had decided who would be on the evaluation committee.

Initially, Mizzi issued instructions to appoint James Camenzula – now CEO of Projects Plus, Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna, Mario Galea, Robert Borg and Charles Grixtie – to make the decision.

All members of the group are embroiled in several other scandals under the Labor administration, and some have faced other criminal charges.

Brian Tonna and Mario Galea were removed from the proposed list for unclear reasons and were replaced by Manuel Castagna, Brian Tonna’s partner at Nexia BT.

Although the group included close associates of Konrad Mizzi, the investigation found that Nexia BT also advised VGH, the final successful bidder.

Ronald Mizzi stays

Zabbar’s Ronald Mizzi was a childhood friend of Konrad Mizzi, who appointed him permanent secretary immediately after Labor returned to power in 2013.

Ronald Mizzi was still in his thirties and had little experience in management positions. The chief official unquestioningly implemented all decisions made by the disgraced former minister Konrad Mizzi.

Ronald Mizzi played an important role in the suspicious dealings carried out by Joseph Muscat, Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, ranging from hospital transactions to the sale of ITS to DB Group and the LNG plant in Delimara.

After Konrad Mizzi left politics, Ronald Mizzi continued to serve as permanent secretary at the Ministry of Economy. He resisted calls to resign, and Prime Minister Robert Abela came to his defense.

Ronald Mizzi faced criminal charges this week, including dereliction of duty, because he had a duty to prevent corruption and fraud to the detriment of Maltese taxpayers.