Govt says St Philip's deal will go before PAC, Muscat says scrutiny must come before signing

The government said this evening that the deal for its acquisition of St Philip's Hospital would be referred to scrutiny by the Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) after it was signed. But Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said that would be practically useless, and the scrutiny should be made before the agreement was signed. The comments were made during an emergency debate held following a request by the Opposition in terms of Standing Order 13 - with no vote being taken. During the debate Nationalist MP Franco Debono hit out at the government for having agreed to hold this debate - without a vote - rather than debate his own motion on the subject, which would have involved a vote.  USING ST LUKE'S CHEAPER IN THE LONG RUN At the opening of the debate, Labour MP Karmenu Vella said the Opposition was being critical of the government's lack of planning, its method of procedure and the lack of transparency. The Opposition was concerned that the government could make better use of taxpayers' money. The Opposition had demanded this debate because government had wanted to go ahead with the deal without parliamentary scrutiny in a way which showed arrogance. Also...