Govt committed to 'transparent, effective' public procurement process

The Government was committed to achieving a public procurement process that is transparent, efficient, and accountable, and reduce the number of appeals through communication and awareness, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said.

This would cut the bureaucratic and administrative costs on industry.

Scicluna was speaking during a press conference held at the Public Contracts Review Board (PCRB) Offices in Floriana. The board presented an accountability report for the Public Contracts Review Board which detailed the work carried out by the PCRB during 2013.

Addressing the media, Scicluna welcomed the work being carried out by the current board, which was appointed on 1st July 2013.

"I am pleased to note that the new Public Contracts Review Board was able to, during the second half of 2013, effectively double the work-rate of the Board while also reducing administrative costs, and drastically improve communication with the Contracts Board," he said.

Flanked by PCRB Chairman Anthony Cassar, the minister said that until recently, the European Commission had warned Malta that the country's public procurement process was among the longest in the European Union.

Scicluna said Malta's overly-long procurement process had also endangered EU funding for the period 2007-2015."The new Government is committed towards making public procurement more transparent, accountable, and efficient.

"I am pleased to note that the biggest improvement registered so far was an improvement in the previously-absent channel of communication between the Public Contracts Department and the PCRB," he said.

"Now there is a good communication and strong cooperation. This is essential in the attainment of the Government's goal to reduce the number of appeals through better communication, awareness, and understanding, of public procurement procedures and requirements."During the last six months of 2013, the new Board managed to almost eliminate the inherited case load, reducing it from 46 pending cases, to only 12.

He also said that the new PCRB doubled the number of hearings heard during the period, from 49 to 88.

He added that the average cost per hearing also dropped by half, from €1,638 to only €689, and that the average Net Contribution per hearing increased from €144 during first six months, to €578 during second six months.