Mugliett challenges government on confidentiality clauses in contracts

Former PN Minister Jesmond Mugliett has challenged the Auditor General, the Chief Permanent Secretary and the Director of Contracts to establish a clear policy, whereby no contractor or supplier tendering for governmental contracts will be allowed to impose confidentiality clauses that would eventually hamper transparency.

Speaking in parliament just two days after he lambasted government over the ARMS Limited, Jesmond Mugliett revealed the contents of a meeting he had with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi over the Smart Meters contract, and obtained a commitment that the contract will be tabled in the House of Parliament shortly.

“When I spoke to the Prime Minister, I explained to him that the Smart Meter contract is a very important case in point, and if it cannot be published in full, there are issues which us parliamentarians and perhaps others, must have access to,” Mugliett said, adding that this is a matter of extreme relevance given the unacceptable low-levelled performance by ARMS Limited.

The former PN Minister said that “we must be in a position not only to evaluate the roll-out of software and customer care, but also the entire scope of works in the Smart Meter contract, in a bid to establish the level of service the tender has specified and the intended benchmarks.”

While MaltaToday is informed that the Prime Minister has asked Finance Minister Tonio Fenech to request IBM Technologies to allow the publication of the contract, irrespective of the confidentiality clauses, Jesmond Mugliett called on the Opposition to participate in a mature debate that would set the parameters for invoking confidentiality clauses.

He augured that the initiative should come from the Auditor General, who together with the Director of Contracts, the Chief Permanent Secretary and representatives from government and Opposition, should establish the guidelines.

Mugliett stressed that the discussion should focus on establishing clear guidelines that would state when confidentiality clauses should be included, whether they should cover the whole contract or in part, and most importantly define the roles of who writes and prepares the tendering document.

“We must know who are the people who draw up the specifications and if they could or not have a role during evaluation. These parameters must apply to all governmental departments and companies where government is a major shareholder,” he said.

Jesmond Mugliett insisted that he will be at the forefront to speak up “without beating about the bush” on good governance and accountability in contracts “for as long as I will stay in parliament.”