‘Privatisation Unit should not have been involved’ – PM on ministerial interference

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today that the Privatisation Unit should not have been involved in the classifying of a company to provide legal services in the gaming industry, when this was an expression of interest.

Muscat said this in defence of Minister for the Economy Chris Cardona, who had been accused of having instructed the Privatisation Unit on which legal firm to choose in a recent competitive process for legal consultancy in the pre-drafting, adjudication, negotiations and final agreements of an expression of interest for the granting of two new casino licences.

The crux of the issue, the Prime Minister said, is that this was not a tender which therefore did not necessitate the involvement of the Privatisation Unit.

"I cannot understand why the Privatisation Unit was involved at this stage," Muscat said, adding that references to the contracts as "tenders" were factually incorrect.

"There never was a tendering process. Moreover, the advice given by the Privatisation Unit was non-binding."

Cardona said yesterday that his actions stemmed from a political decision to change the criteria on which contracts were awarded.

"What was incorrect," Cardona said yesterday when asked whether it was proper for a minister to intervene in public tenders, "were the millions in direct orders awarded by the former government."

"The direct orders used to be granted to the same five families," Cardona continued.