PN local council yet to ‘shoulder responsibility’ over irregular adjudication of St Julian’s contract

Four months after a MaltaToday report flagged the illegal tender award to construction magnate and PN donor Zaren Vassallo, the St Julian's local council is yet to shoulder its responsibility, despite the board of local governance flagging the adjudication of the €13 million project as "vitiated, illegal" and littered with irregularities.

Earmarked for a community home for the elderly, a car park and new offices for the local council, the St Julian's local council awarded the €13 million public private partnership project to Care Malta, a private elderly care provider owner by construction magnate and PN donor Zaren Vassallo.

However, following a report published by MaltaToday, Parliamentary Secretary for local governance Josè Herrera, 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. 

"Nevertheless, neither Simon Busuttil nor anyone from the St Julian's local council is yet to shoulder responsibility for the adjudication of the contract," local news portal inewsmalta said.

Parliamentary Secretary Herrera had also ordered an investigation by the Board of Local Governance because the process was irregular since the procedure and the criteria established by the local council were approved neither by the Lands Department nor by the Department for Local Governance.

Back in November, Busuttil said he immediately asked the reaction of the local council and he was still waiting for it.

Quizzed by PBS Head of News Reno Bugeja on Dissett, the PN leader explained that upon the board of local governance flagging the irregularities, he immediately asked the local council to issue their comments and response to the report.

The Board's report showed that the process was "vitiated, lacking transparency and in breach of the law." It also noted that the local council did not own the land and had no right to issue a call for land that was allocated to the department of elderly care in 2012.

Fellow construction companies Attard Brothers and JSGR Consortium had also responded to the local council's small advert calling for an expression of interest, but nevertheless, in what it seems as an arbitrary decision, Vassallo's Care Malta was awarded the contract within three working days.

To add salt to the wound, the Board of Local Governance said, the competitors were not given the right to appeal against the decision of the St Julian's local council decision.