MaltaToday report leads to annulment of €13 million project

Controversial €13 million project adjudicated without a tender by St Julian's local council revoked by junior minister Josè Herrera following MaltaToday report.

Parliamentary Secretary for local governance Josè Herrera, today said that he ordered the department of local government to revoke the decision taken by the St Julian’s local council to adjudicate a €13 million project without issuing a tender. 

Herrera confirmed that the department only became aware the project was adjudicated after MaltaToday’s report last Sunday.

Last Sunday, MaltaToday reported that a €13 million public private partnership project was awarded to construction magnate and PN donor Zaren Vassallo without a call for tenders. It was also reported that the competitors were not given the right to appeal against the decision of the St Julian's local council decision.

Following MaltaToday’s report, the St Julian’s local council asked for guidance and to check whether all regulations and legislation was followed. The letter was sent on 29th August, four days after the report was published.

“The process was irregular because the procedure and the criteria established by the local council were not approved neither by the Lands Department nor by the Department for Local Governance,” Herrera said.

Not even the call for expression of interest had the approval by the department.

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.

Apart from Zaren Vassallo’s CareMalta, another two companies, Attard Brothers and JSGR Consortium submitted an application; however, in what seems 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.

The two excluded companies were not given any explanation for their disqualification by the local council led by PN Mayor Peter Bonello and were also denied the opportunity to appeal this decision.

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Congratulations to Malta Today for bringing this scandal to the public. I always maintained that we do NOT need local councils because they lead to more burocracy and corruption and to demi-Gods who think that people owe them something.
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How on earth can something as massive as this can go unpunished!It smells of corruption..
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Simon PN has unfortunately been reduced to a party that turns to the black dust of "tahwid", all that they touch
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Komplu ghaffgu, tal-PN. Xejn ma mbidel minn wara l-elezzjoni - kap baswi ha post kap bazwi iehor.
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Well done Malta Today, my favourite neswpaper.
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The PN is still as corrupt as ever. It is disgraceful that all this is done in an underhand manner. Thanks to MaltaToday this corruption has now come to light. How many more cases are still to be discovered? Simon Busuttil's Party is still the same old GONZIPN with its clikka of inner circle beneficiaries.
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Bravo MT!
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Finally the goverment is seeing some sense to dissuade corruption and restore transparent democracy. Well done.
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Well done to Malta Today and the journalists involved.
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St.Julians is filthy. Vomit, empty bottles, cups, wrappers are dumped on a daily basis in astonishing amounts. One cleaner attempts to do all of st julians bay daily. The Mayor and the local council are not at all interested. They seem to only want more and more restaurants, clubs and snack bars.
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The Mayor should resign and all the councillors who supported this disgraceful decision should follow suit , no excuses. St Julians is in an abysmal state, the council lost touch with reality many moons ago and now this. Get rid of the lot and start afresh.
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I always say you have to read Malta Today to know what is happening in Malta.Prosit Dr Herrera for revokeing this contract.
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Prosit Salv, int mhux bhal tat Times on line dawk igibu li jridu,jekk tkun kontra l-gvern iddum gurnata bhal main healines u hlief censura ma jghamlux, ara it Tabib s........gieli kellu seba interventi fuq l-istess artiklu. Ftit iehor u nghamel bhal ma ghamilt l-Indipendent.Tibqa fuq li xkaffa.
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Ma nistax nifhem l-arroganza tas sindku u l-kunsill. Li jiehdu azzjoni meta jafu li kienu kontra ligi. It tieni kif jistu johorgu tender fuq art tal Gvern. Jaf is Sindku li l-art ghada tal Gvern,jew meta hareg it tender hada forgranted li se jkun hemm il gvern tieghu. Ahjar iddur dawra ma Paceville, San Giljan, ta Gorni u l-bajja ta san Gorg u jghati tindifa. Pero donnu ha attitudni li jhalli kullimkien mandra biex jehel il Gvern tal Labour.Se titlifa din Sur Peter !!!!!!!!!!!! taf xi rrid nghid.
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Luke Camilleri
.... AKTAR U AKTAR SERJETA!
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SimonPn and his entourage are still acting like hogs on the trough! The more you keep defending 'il-hnizrijiet li ghamiltu' the better for all us!
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SimonPn and his entourage are still acting like hogs on the trough! The more you keep defending 'il-hnizrijiet li ghamiltu' the better for all us!
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SimonPn and his entourage are still acting like hogs on the trough! The more you keep defending 'il-hnizrijiet li ghamiltu' the better for all us!
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SimonPn and his entourage are still acting like hogs on the trough! The more you keep defending 'il-hnizrijiet li ghamiltu' the better for all us!
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SimonPn and his entourage are still acting like hogs on the trough! The more you keep defending 'il-hnizrijiet li ghamiltu' the better for all us!