Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/163731
7 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER 2013 ' St Julian's council contract annulled The parliamentary secretary explained that over a span of 25 years, the total value of the project would have reached €100 million. On 21 July, the St Julian's council published a small, inconspicuous advert in local newspapers in which it issued an expression of interest (EOI) for a community home for the elderly, a car park and new offices for the local council. Herrera said the advert was published without the Department for Local Government's permission and the procedures mentioned in the advert were also decided unilaterally by the council. The advert explained that the council was looking for a "strategic partner who will work with the council's architect to submit bids and/or enter into negotiations with government for the realisation of this project". In total three companies, Prism Homes Consortium, CareMalta and JSGR Consortium submitted an application; however, in what seemed like an arbitrary decision by the St Julian's local council, two out of the three applicants were disqualified from the process, leaving CareMalta as the sole bidder. On Friday, one of the disqualified consortia presented a judiciary protest against the St Julian's local council over irregularities in awarding the contract to CareMalta, Herrera pointed out. "I am not attacking the technical credibility of the consortium – it could be the best bidder in the world for all I know, but if the procedures followed were not regular, then it is unacceptable," Herrera said. Asked whether the Department for Local Government had any suspicions on whether the EOI was tailor-made to suit anyone of the bidders, Herrera said that although suspicions exist, his decision to revoke the adjudication was not based on suspicions but the fact that the law was not adhered to. He added that in the next few months he would be proposing new regulations to eliminate grey areas in the adjudication of contracts by councils. The revocation of the contract means that the St Julian's council will now have to decide how best to proceed, however Herrera said that the committee of good governance within his secretariat would be investigating the council's actions. The local government department and his secretariat were not informed about the procedures established by the council at any stage, and the winning bid was chosen by the architect of the St Julian's council, Stephen Far- of confusion within its ranks, saying, "It is becoming increasingly clear that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing in this government's system of governance. The Nationalist Party invites the parliamentary secretary for culture and local government to address this matter directly with the parliamentary secretary for active ageing and disability rights." Jose Herrera: "The lack of transparency raised suspicions, and suspicions undermine the credibility of our democratic institutions" Mayor stands his ground rugia. Explaining the chronological order of events, Herrera pointed out that in 2010 the Government Property Division approved the devolution of land to the council as long as long as MEPA permits were attained. In November 2012, with the council procrastinating on the planning permits, the Government Property Division informed the council that it would only transfer the land by tender. Herrera added that the council never submitted a feasibility study or asked for financial clearance. Moreover, it has so far failed to produce a MEPA permit, and therefore the land devolution application is still pending. "To make matters worse, the council adjudicated the expression of interest within one month," Herrera said, highlighting the role played by architect Stephen Farrugia, who also happens to be the husband of Mosta's PN mayor Shirley Farrugia. Only after the publication of the MaltaToday report on Sunday 25 August did the council ask the Department for Local Government for guidance. In a letter dated 29 August, the council informed the director of the local government department, Carmel Abela, of the publication of the EOI and the adjudication. The council also asked Abela for "guidance on whether the procedure was correct". Herrera said he could not understand "how the council first went ahead without asking for any approval and then asked the department for guidance". He added that the council should have first consulted the department and then went ahead with the whole process. Moreover, the local council's decision was in breach of the Local Councils Act, Herrera said. The Act states that councils cannot "enter into any form of commercial partnership in furtherance of its functions or otherwise, unless authorised to do so in writing by the Minister". The Act adds that councils "may enter into public-private partnerships both with the private sector or with non-governmental organisations, following approval by the Department for Local Government, which shall grant such approval only if it is satisfied that such partnership would benefit the residents of the locality and after having obtained the approval of the minister responsible for finance and of the minister responsible for local government." PN defends St Julian's council Sources have said that the excluded applicants voiced their concern at the manner in which the local council had dealt with the EOI. With PN leader Simon Busuttil, however, their complaints fell on deaf ears. Despite all the evidence showing that the public-private partnership project decided by the council was in breach of the Local Councils Act, both PN leader Simon Busuttil and St Julian's mayor Peter Bonello insisted that the council was following instructions by Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly Franco Mercieca. Last week, Simon Busuttil defended the St Julian's council by claiming that the PN councillors had confirmed their adherence to the procedure agreed upon with the government and "have now also sought further confirmation of this with the Department of Contracts and the Ministry of Finance." Asked whether his stood by his statement, Busuttil said that the project did not involve a partnership between the council and a private company, but the council was only proposing a partner to the parliamentary secretary responsible for elderly care. "The St Julian's local council did not "award a €13 million project without a tender" but proposed a strategic partner to the parliamentary secretariat for active ageing and disability rights following a call for expressions of interest; the land on which the project is earmarked has not been devolved to the local council and it is therefore government which must take the final decision on who to partner with," the PN leader said. He stressed that the procedure was adopted following a meeting with the parliamentary secretariat and on the advice of Parliamentary Secretary Franco Mercieca himself. "The Nationalist Party is also informed that the St Julian's local council has since contacted the Department of Contracts and this has been confirmed by the parliamentary secretary for culture and local government." Busuttil also accused the government The St Julian's local council set an 8 August deadline for interested parties to submit documentation outlining their experience in the sector of care for the elderly and the construction industry. Apparently, the decision to exclude the two companies from the process was taken on 18 August. However the latest council minutes online date back to 27 June and the minutes form later meetings are not available. Contacted last week to explain the council's decision, PN mayor Peter Bonello said that he would be replying to the questions on Tuesday, since St Julian's was celebrating its parish feast last weekend. In his replies, Bonello insisted that the council issued an expression of interest to propose a 'strategic partner' in full consultation with the Parliamentary Secretariat for Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Active Ageing. "In fact, the government issued a similar call for expressions of interest for the development of public-private partnerships in long-term care which closed on 20 August 2013." Asked why were all companies, except one, disqualified from the process, Bonello said, "It is not true that all companies, except one, were disqualified from the process. In its call for expressions of interest, the council issued a set of criteria to guide interested parties in their application; interested parties were asked to submit relevant documentation outlining their experience in the sector of the care for the elderly and the construction industry. The council's evaluation was based on the criteria requested in the call for expressions of interest." He added that the council was awaiting approval of MEPA application 1852/2010 and awaiting direction on the expression of interest issued by the Parliamentary Secretariat for Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Active Ageing. Attempts to contact Bonello yesterday proved futile. jbalzan@mediatoday.com.mt Project Development Workshop A two-day workshop on project development for artists and cultural operators The workshop will be held on 11 and 12 September at Phoenicia Hotel, Floriana from 09:30 till 15:00 hrs. Throughout the 2 days, individual artists and cultural organisations will receive consultation on project development by representatives of; Cultural Contact Point (Malta) Malta Council for Culture and the Arts Valletta 2018 Foundation submit a short project proposal by Friday 6th September. For more information please email ccp@gov.mt. This event is being co-organised by Cultural Contact Point (Malta), the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts and the Valletta 2018 Foundation.