Public procurement is broken, and the government’s failed attempt to allocate a €600m tender to build a waste-to-energy plant is the latest example of that, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry believes.

In a statement on Saturday, the Chamber said there was now a preponderance of evidence – from National Audit Office reports to court judgements and appeals sentences – to show that public procurement “is not functioning transparently and equitably, resulting in abuse, amateurism and irresponsible handling of public funds.”

The Chamber statement did not directly reference any particular case which prompted it to issue the statement. But sources confirmed that the influential business lobby was left aghast by a public contracts debacle which this week saw a court of appeal cancel a €600 million tender award decision.

The massive tender, intended to build a waste-to-energy plant in Magħtab, was awarded to a consortium made up of French waste management giants Paprec and local contractors Bonnici Brothers.

The award decision was confirmed by the Public Contracts Review Board after a rival bidder appealed the decsion.

But a court of appeal this week ruled that the entire decision had to be annuled, members of the Tenders Evaluation Committee and the PCRB had conflict of interest issues which disqualified them from playing a part in the process.

In its statement on Saturday, the Malta Chamber said problems with public procurement were well known and recalled that it had issued a report suggesting ways to reform processes back in 2021.

“Breaches and abuses continue to happen because there is limited transparency, weak internal controls, inadequate checks and balances, as well as conflicts of interests. The current legal remedies are, at times, ineffectual and limited, as to what can be challenged and by who,” it said.

The Chamber said that while the government has acknowledged problems, neither it, the Opposition or Malta Council of Economic and Social Development has done much to implement reform.

Some of the Malta Chamber’s recommendations include:

• Requiring the government to publish its procurement outlook for the following 6 months
• Preliminary market consultation processes
• Using truly independent experts when drafting procurement documents
• Moving away from focusing solely on prioritising cheapest bidders to more quality and ROI-focused metrics
• Better scrutiny of all direct orders prior to their issue
• Setting up a publicly accessible and easy to use Contracts Register which includes all contracts and with details about milestones, payments, disputes and modifications related to the contract 

Both the business community and public “has had enough of cowboys running roughshod over good governance and clean business,” the Chamber said, emphasising the need for all economic operators to be on a level playing field.

“Public procurement spending is taxpayer money. Government has the duty and obligation to manage the spending of taxpayer money correctly, ensuring value for money and avoiding extravagant spending which is of no beneficial value to the taxpayer,” it said.