Company files protest against IT courses selection board chairman

A company which had submitted a tender for the provision of IT courses for MCAST this morning filed a judicial protest against the chairman of the selection board saying actions he had taken during the selection process would cause it damages.

Computer Domain Ltd said it had been awarded the most points in the selection process, but rather than awarding it the contract, the selection board, on instructions from its chairman, Juan Borg Manduca, was asked to raise the points of the other bidding companies such that they too became eligible for the contract.

Computer Domain said that as a result of this unjustified manoeuvre, the contract which should have been awarded to it would now be divided between all the bidders.

The company claimed that Mr Borg Manduca knew that other tenderers did not meet some of the requirements of the call for tenders. Yet he had not taken action to disqualify companies which: did not have the capacity to handle the number of students they declared; did not hold an Education Department licence to teach IT; had not been providing IT courses for five years, and did not have facilities for people with disabilities.

Not only were these companies not disqualified, but the selection board was directed to raise their points so that they could be eligible for the contract.

The company called on Mr Borg Manduca to reverse his decisions by directing the selection board to act in a correct and regular manner.