Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/753405
2 MATTHEW VELLA THE Central Procurement Sup- plies Unit, which acquires medi- cines for Mater Dei Hospital and other state medical facilities, and the Civil Protection Department, are the first government enti- ties to be legally allowed to make "emergency procurements" in a new, speeded-up competitive call for tenders. Under the emergency procure- ment rules, specific govern- ment entities can acquire up to €135,000 of services in a com- petitive public call that can be as short as four days. Economic operators will have to be specifically registered elec- tronically beforehand to be able to submit their offers through an electronic platform set up by the contracting authority or through the government's e-procurement platform. A three-person Adjudication Board will evaluate the offers sub- mitted. No modification will be allowed to a contract awarded under these regulations, and if a contract cannot be executed without a modification, the contract will be cancelled and a new procedure is- sued. Prior to the evaluation of the offers, the contracting authority will publish the list of bidders. Every six months, the contract- ing authority shall publish in the Government Gazette a list of con- tracts awarded under these regu- lations, which list shall include the details of the bidders who were awarded the contracts, and the value of the contracts. maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2016 News 153 MINISTRY FOR THE FAMILY AND SOCIAL SOLIDARITY MINISTRY FOR FINANCE C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Newspaper 153 ENG - 17.11.pdf 1 17/11/2016 15:10 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The jour- nalists said that after Magri's inter- vention, a conversation was held between senior police officers at the Victoria police station. The officers noted that the arrest of Bogdanovic would prevent his participation in an important football match. They both surmised that they could technically release him on po- lice bail once the investigation was concluded. But in fact the investiga- tion had not been concluded since Bogdanovic's wife still needed to present documents, and the police required a police conduct report from the main office in Floriana. It was clear, the journalists de- clared, that if the protocol were to be followed Bogdanovic would have had to be kept under arrest. After the publication of the story in MaltaToday, the Sunday after the game took place, the two police of- ficers confronted one another, and one of the officers alleged that the other was prone to take orders from Gozo Minister Anton Refalo, espe- cially with regard to traffic offences reported during the week. The declaration goes on to state that the police telephone call that led to the player being released was taken after a government official complained that Bogdanovic would miss out on an important football match. Balzan and Vella also state that in the time after the publication of the story, the Gozo minister, who also served as a bank guarantor for the Xewkija Tigers Club, had stated in an interview with the newspaper Illum that he did not know Bogda- novic. It later transpired that the minis- ter's son played in a nursery and was trained in the under-15s of Xewkija Tigers by Bogdanovic himself, and the minister had met him on several occasions. Bogdanovic's release in breach of protocol 29 failed asylum seekers await MIRIAM DALLI TWENTYNINE failed asylum seekers are still being detained at the Safi detention centre, awaiting their fate. The group of migrants – some of whom have been living in Mal- ta for the past eight years – used to regularly report to the police headquarters to get their papers renewed. But last week everything changed when they were given an appointment on Monday morn- ing to renew their documents, only to end up being detained and taken to the detention centre with plans to deport them. The original group of migrants – all from Mali – amounted to 33. Four of them were later released following a review carried out by the Office of the Refugee Com- missioner; one was found to hold a valid permit and a second is the father of a child born in Malta. Speaking to MaltaToday, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela confirmed that the failed asylum seekers are at the Safi detention centre awaiting the arrival of an African delegation. The delegation is expected in Malta at the beginning of De- cember and forms part of a wider "initiative" being organised by the European Union's External Ac- tion Service. "The delegation is on an identi- fication mission coordinated by the EU," Abela said, adding that it included "experts" able to identify these persons. In the case of this group, the "criteria" for deportation was that their country of origin is Mali and they had allegedly not been en- titled to any form of protection. Their sudden arrest sparked fear amongst the migrant community and raised the concern of human rights NGOs who were left ques- tioning the future of these people. Questioned about the fact that the group included migrants who have been in Malta for several years, Abela insisted that a return decision "doesn't hold an expiry date". "A return decision doesn't hold an expiry date; the issue with re- turns is periodically discussed at European Council level, mainly because once a decision is taken to repatriate migrants we face hur- dles on their actual deportation," he said, adding that the European Union was "not quick on sending them back". "Like we want to ensure the re- location of migrants, we also want to ensure repatriation. By not sending back failed asylum seek- ers it will only serve as a pull fac- tor." In June, the European Commis- sion announced a new migration partnership framework, "seeking tailor made partnerships with key third countries of origin and transit" in a bid to facilitate the deportation of migrants whilst as- sisting these countries financially. The European Union, on behalf of member states, has essentially taken it on itself to ensure that the migrants' rights are protected once they are returned to their country of origin. The agreement is being imple- mented by the European External Action Service and targets people from Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal and Ethiopia. The member states are tasked with identifying the groups, whilst the EEAS coordi- nate the returns. Last month, EU leaders said they wanted so-called "com- pacts" – agreements with African countries to curb migration in exchange for development aid – with the five countries to be ready by spring 2017. The 28-bloc said it would "apply the necessary lever- age, using all relevant EU policies, instruments and tools, including development and trade" to reduce migrant flows. Their deportation comes amidst changes to the Temporary Hu- manitarian Protection – N(ew) [THP-n], which will no longer al- low new applicants to apply for it. New 'emergency' rules allow hospital to purchase meds in under four days