The Nationalist Party has filed a judicial protest asking the court to force the director of contracts to investigate a multimillion-euro contract for a new cancer treatment facility.
In a news conference outside court on Tuesday, PN MPs Adrian Delia and Alex Borg said they had no option but to take the case to court after the director of contracts did not reply to a letter they sent him last month.
“The director of contracts is obliged to investigate whether the tender was awarded fairly and lawfully, but so far, he has refused to answer our calls,” Delia said.
“We have asked the director to investigate whether the tendering process was in any way unfairly favouring the winning bidder. We’re talking about cancer treatment here, this is serious, and we cannot afford to lose more time,” Borg added.
Last month, Borg and Delia sent a letter to the director of contracts calling for the entire tender process to be passed over to the competent authorities for investigation.
The deadline for submitting bids for the tender closed in July with Technoline Ltd being the only bidder. Their offer was €21.49 million.
According to the etenders website, the tender is currently at evaluation stage.
The company’s bid was selected despite costing double the original €12 million estimate.
The government insists the tendering process was entirely lawful and carried out correctly.
'Process designed to exclude others'
With this new cancer equipment contract, Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre will procure state-of-the-art cancer equipment known as a Magnetic Resonance Linear Accelerator. It will be housed in a subterranean bunker.
Concerns have been raised over the type of equipment Technoline provides and whether a new bunker is necessary.
The equipment costs about half of the value of the tender - the rest of the cost is for the bunker to host the model offered by Technoline.
“Four companies bid for the tender, but the timing and conditions suspiciously indicate that the process was designed to exclude the other bidders,” Delia said.
“Originally, the tender was just for the equipment and did not require the construction of a new bunker. The government bound itself to commission the construction of a new bunker because the winning bidder’s model did not fit in the existing bunkers.”
Delia has become synonymous with the VGH hospitals deal having taken the matter to court in a bid to have the three facilities returned to the public.
On Tuesday, Delia and Borg said the concerns are clear and serious. The director of contracts is obliged to investigate whether taxpayer money is being spent unfairly.
Last month, a health ministry spokesperson insisted the tender had already been reviewed by the competent authority, the Public Contracts Review Board, which found that the tendering process was “done correctly and in full respect of the law and adjudicated in its favour”.
“The health authorities are committed to following this autonomous board’s decision and for this reason, decided to proceed with the procurement process,” the spokesperson said.
Technoline owner Ivan Vassallo has been among those investigated by a magistrate for allegedly being part of a criminal conspiracy in the controversial deal to privatise three state hospitals.
In an extensive investigation, the auditor general said Vitals Global Healthcare, the company linked to Technoline, should have been disqualified from bidding for the takeover of three state hospitals because of “collusive behaviour”.