Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1294561
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 OCTOBER 2020 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Documents obtained by Mal- taToday show that changes to Princling's memorandum and articles of association were re- ceived by the Malta Business Registry on 2 April. But owner Anton Cutajar would not say what brand of ventilators his company had procured and whether the firm could provide the necessary maintenance and spare parts for the medical equipment. "What difference does it make to you? Does a hotel owner have to know how to cook? No, he employs a chef to cook," Cutajar told MaltaToday when contact- ed. Adopting a defensive attitude, Cutajar asked this newspaper to get its information from the government. "You have no idea what we passed through to get these ventilators. As if the gov- ernment is going to accept ven- tilators without proper certifica- tion from doctors," he added. However, Cutajar denied hav- ing received €2 million from the direct order despite what the Government Gazette said. "We only got five ventilators despite being able to supply 50 because there was no need for the rest. We did not get paid €2 million," he insisted. Cutajar's Princling Holdings was also awarded another direct order on 16 September which still has not featured on the gov- ernment gazette, which are con- sumables and accessories for the ITU ventilators at €50,250. Cutajar owns the Noah's Ark zoo in Siġġiewi and is currently seeking planning regularisation for structures that were built il- legally. Originally, the zoo was built illegally but sanctioned by the Planning Authority a few years ago. The award of the contract to Princling Holdings – which falls under the CPSU order 1062/2022 – and two other di- rect orders for ventilators issued to Fieldsports Ltd, a company owned by arms dealer James Fenech, raised eyebrows among established industry players. "When the health department buys medical equipment it also seeks assurances on the avail- ability of spare parts, and the right technical personnel to car- ry out maintenance or provide training. It is strange how these ITU ventilators were sourced from two companies with no previous experience in the medi- cal field," an industry source told this newspaper. The CPSU awarded a number of direct orders to different com- panies for the supply of ventila- tors when the coronavirus pan- demic hit in March. The government was rushing to make more ITU beds and ven- tilators available as it increased the level of preparedness. From arms to ventilators Fieldsports were awarded two direct orders each worth €475,000 for the total supply of 26 ventilators for Mater Dei Hospital, awarded by the CPSU on 21 and 25 March this year. The batch was part of the same call, 1062/2020, that was later used for the Princling Holding delivery. But in comments to MaltaTo- day, Fenech insisted that he only delivered 13 Siemens units – one of the first batches paraded by health minister Chris Fearne at the start of the pandemic. The CPSU confirmed that the cost was €591,298. "Various of my companies have had previous experience in pro- curing some form of medical equipment previously, so the CPSU was already aware of my business," Fenech told MaltaTo- day when challenged over the apparent lack of experience in supplying the ventilators. "It so happened that I was asked to tap into my sources for ventilators at a time when there was a panicked rush by the health authorities to obtain ven- tilators. My Turkish contact told me that they had 13 ventilators stuck at the Malta Freeport, so – after much trouble – I managed to get them out and deliver them to the CPSU." Asked whether they had any commercial relationship be- tween themselves, both Cutajar and Fenech denied any link. "No, I don't even know who he is," Cutajar said when asked wheth- er any commercial link existed between his company and Field- sports. Fenech too denied the connec- tion. But the arms dealer admitted that he had been blacklisted since April 2020 on government tenders, since he was charged in a Maltese court for breaching EU sanctions on Libya after his company leased two boats to a group of mercenaries involved in a helicopter-gunship delivery for Libyan renegade Khalifa Haftar. Fenech has denied the charges. Negotiated procedure The CPSU told MaltaToday that the 1062/2020 negotiated procedure for the ITU ventila- tor units – a sort of emergency procurement at times employed when there is a lack of compe- tition – was awarded during March and June through direct negotiations. The CPSU said that "due to the restricted amount of ventilators on the international market" it took on direct negotiations to ensure that Malta would be sup- plied with enough ventilators. "To avoid over-commitment and overstock, there were in- stances where orders which were not confirmed were cancelled," the CPSU said, explaining the variations on the direct orders. Other ventilators were also sourced from other suppliers. "It is pertinent to note that at the start of the pandemic there was a global scarcity of ventila- tors and massive competition on a global scale. Malta managed to source the necessary ventilators such that at no time were we unable to treat patients who re- quired assisted ventilation – this was not the case in a number of other hospitals in other parts of the world," the CPSU told Mal- taToday in a comment sought from the health ministry. No explanation from zookeeper with no previous medical industry experience as to how he procured ITU with coronavirus ventilators Arms dealer says he was blacklisted after charges Anton Cutajar and James Fenech: both men denied any link over the fact that their ventilators were supplied under the same CPSU order Health minister Chris Fearne at Mater Dei Hospital during the installation of more ventilators at the ITU in April 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malta "What difference does it make to you? Does a hotel owner have to know how to cook? No, he employs a chef to cook"