Health minister refusing to publish public contract awarded to PN donor

Health Minister Joe Cassar has refused to publish a contract awarded to elderly care group CareMalta for the management of Zammit Clapp Hospital.

The hospital provides a specialised service to elderly patients requiring assessment, management and rehabilitation through an interdisciplinary approach.

Even though it is a public medical institution, Zammit Clapp Hospital is managed by CareMalta, a private elderly care provider owned by construction magnate and well-known PN donor and activist Nazzareno Vassallo.

Cassar refused to publish the contract when asked in a parliamentary question earlier this week, and declined to publish it when asked by MaltaToday.

The refusal to publish a copy of the contract has opened up Cassar - and government - to questions of favouring confidentiality on a public matter, on the basis of political allegiance, due to the ownership of CareMalta.

Cassar is insisting that the contract cannot be made public due to a third party signatory that did not give its permission for a copy of the contract to be published.

The initial request was made by shadow health minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca in parliament.  However, her request was turned down for the same reasons.

The health minister's spokesperson said that the ministry was not in a position to provide a copy of the contract due to the lack of permission from the third parties.

"The tendering process was transparent and of course open for all," the spokesperson said. "Anyone could have sent in an offer. Furthermore, those who presented their bid could have appealed if they felt that there was anything to appeal about," he added.

Confronted about a possible conflict of interest due to Vassallo's allegiance to the Nationalist Party, Cassar's spokesperson said: "Kindly note that the minister doesn't get involved in any tendering processes."

Replying to further questions raised by Coleiro Preca, Cassar said in parliament that the contract reflected the terms of references and all conditions as stipulated in the calls for tender.

Cassar also revealed that CareMalta's performance guarantee at Zammit Clapp Hospital amounts to €571,117.