A 2010 multi-million-euro contract for the provision of detention centre meals has been extended repeatedly to the same company over the years, bypassing public procurement regulations, an audit report has highlighted.

Just over a decade ago, a contract for the preparation, transportation and serving of breakfast, lunch and dinner to third-country nationals at detention centres was awarded to a catering company for 24 months. It was valued at €11.3 million.

Given that the value of the contract was not exhausted due to a drop in the number of migrants, the original agreement was extended.

However, the extensions then started to go beyond the original value and seven years later the agreement was still in force. By 2016, the contract value had increased by 25 per cent to a total of €14.14 million.

At that time, the National Audit Office had urged the government to issue a new call for tenders “without undue delay, based on the current needs” in line with public procurement regulations.

However, another five years later, there has been insignificant progress on the matter, the NAO says in its follow-up report that has just been released.

While a call for tenders was in fact published in October 2019, by June 2021 it was still being evaluated, the audit office points out.

The NAO would not confirm the identity of the catering company and referred Times of Malta to the government. Questions sent to the Home Affairs Ministry remained unanswered.

'Still much room for improvement'

The report was among this year’s first batch of follow-ups to past audits carried out by the NAO’s financial and compliance section.

The audit office found that detention services registered significant progress or implemented (at least in part) a third of its 2016 recommendations.

However, it says it could not follow up on a significant number of the shortcomings it had found in 2016 due to lack of feedback provided by detention services. Those shortcomings included lack of control of human resources and its inventory.

Although the NAO acknowledges the management’s efforts, there is “still much room for improvement”.

Detention Services were in fact at the bottom of the progress list among several other government entities examined.

In all, some 52 per cent of the auditor’s recommendations were implemented in regard to Mater Dei Hospital, overseas development aid and European development funds, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation, support to voluntary organisations and civil society fund, Junior College, Gozo schools, Civil Protection Department and detention services.

Another 12 per cent were implemented in part.