Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/408403
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 NOVEMBER 2014 4 News MIRIAM DALLI TWO letters signed by the Malta Resources Authority (MRA) and the Department of Contracts deny- ing their involvement in the issuing and adjudication process of a €35 million PV contract "are two silly documents" that prove nothing, ac- cording to Nationalist MP George Pullicino. Ever since the government revealed an unsigned bank document, guaran- teeing the capital solidity of Spanish photovoltaic manufacturers Solarig, pressure has been mounting on the former minister to explain why this had happened. The document, uncovered during an enquiry by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), is now the subject of a Police investigation for suspected fraud. The letter had been presented by the Spanish firm, a partner in the Alberta Photovoltaic Consortium, in a bid to secure the €35 million contract to install PV panels on government buildings. Neither Pullicino nor his then permanent secretary, Christopher Ciantar, have been contacted by the Police. When the allegedly fraudulent doc- ument came to light, Pullicino reiter- ated that the Contracts Department and the MRA had been responsible for the contract. But on Friday, Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi published two letters – one signed by the Director General of the Contracts Department, An- thony Cachia, and the other by MRA CEO Anthony Rizzo – both denying their respective entity's involvement in the issuing and adjudication proc- ess of the contract. "The two letters reveal nothing as Ciantar had already stated that he had given the presentation on the feed-in tariff," Pullicino told Mal- taToday, referring to a higher-than- normal feed-in tariff of 23c per elec- tricity unit. "These two documents are just two silly documents that prove us right. I never interfered with the tender- ing process and the feed-in tariff was recommended by the adjudicating committee. Ciantar appeared before the MRA to make his case on the feed-in tariff." According to Pullicino, it was the Energy Minister who had a lot to an- swer for because "the construction of a new power plant costing €400 mil- lion was only subjected to an EOI". Contacted by MaltaToday, Chris- topher Ciantar said that the proc- ess fell under the resources ministry (MRRA) but was governed by the contracts department. MRRA had classified the contract as a public service commission. Yet, Cachia insisted that the "De- partment of Contracts had absolute- ly no involvement in the Expression of Interest process, and only had a very limited role in the tender proc- ess. The management of the whole process was entirely within MRRA". "[The department] was not involved in the issuing, evaluation, adjudica- tion, clarifications and short-listing of the bidders in the expression of interest process. The Department of Contracts was only referred to in the issuing of the tender document, approval of the evaluation commit- tee members upon recommendation by MRRA, and the approval of the evaluation report submitted by the evaluation committee," Cachia said. On his part, Ciantar said that the ministry identified the targets but it was the evaluation committee – ap- pointed by the ministry – that ap- proved it. Ciantar denied having ever been aware of the unsigned bank docu- ment: "That was the job of the ad- judicating committee and I was not part of it. No one ever mentioned anything about it and no objections had ever been raised." The evaluation report dated 25 June, 2012 was discussed by the Gen- eral Contracts Committee and ap- proved the recommendation of the Evaluation Committee to award the tender to Alberta, the only bidder. According to Cachia, Ciantar had also requested the DG "to delegate him for the signing of the letter of intent". Ciantar defended this choice. "We had made it clear in our tender that the binding agreement would be the concession agreement. Since the let- ter of intent was not binding, I don't think I did anything wrong in re- questing a dispensation to sign it." Adding that it could have just been a formality, Ciantar said he was speaking from memory and that he could not remember the exact rea- son. "But this was a public concession and, really, I wasn't even required to go to the Contracts Department, which I still did." On 7 December, 2012, the conces- sion agreement was signed between the MRRA and the Alberta consor- tium, together with the lease agree- ments for the premises of the Water Services Corporation, and that for Public Properties signed between MRRA, the Commissioner of Land and Alberta Photovoltaic Consor- tium. "The copies of these agreements were only received at the Depart- ment of Contracts on 27 Febru- ary, 2013, which is more than two months after the signing," Anthony Cachia said. Ciantar confirmed he met Alberta managing director George Barbaro Sant a few times "after the adjudica- tion report was approved" when ne- gotiations between the ministry and the consortium started. Ciantar also stood firmly by Pulli- cino, saying that the former minister "never interfered with his work… had he ever done so, I would have resigned immediately". Former minister, permanent secretary insist letters 'prove nothing' A 66-year-old Sliema man, Natale Fenech, owes his life to his dog after spending 22 hours trapped in a well in Pembroke. Fenech, who was walking his two dogs in an area close to the reverse osmosis plant, fell into the well af- ter one of his dogs escaped and he chased after it. In the rather unusual accident, one of the dogs ran off, walking straight into a partially covered four-metre ditch and falling into a well at its end. Not realising that the tunnel led to a well, Fenech crawled in after his dog, and he too fell in. His other dog stood by the ditch, all during its owner's 22-hour or- deal, until its barking attracted the attention of passers-by, who realised that someone was in difficulty. "If it were not for his dog, no one would have realised that a man had fallen in," an eyewitness said. Noting that the dog had a leash, the passers-by realised that some- thing was wrong and that the dog had been barking to draw their at- tention. It was at that moment that the passers-by heard the elderly man's cries for help. Soaking wet, shivering and weak, Fenech and his other dog were res- cued by members of the Civil Pro- tection Department. An ambulance rushed the man to Mater Dei Hos- pital where he is receiving treatment for hypothermia. Man rescued after falling in well has dog to thank Government publishes two letters showing MRA, Contracts Department 'not involved in issuing and adjudicating process of €35 million contract' George Pullicino