Enemalta’s board did not delve into the decision to award the controversial power station contract to Electrogas, the former chairman said on Tuesday.
Testifying before the public accounts committee, ex-chairman Charles Mangion said the board had at the time merely “ratified” the fait accompli presented to them by the evaluation committee and then Enemalta CEO Louis Giordimaina.
Mangion said he voted in favour of the “ratification”, despite having declared a conflict of interest due to being a long-time notary to Electrogas shareholders Tumas Group.
The former chairman said the board had relied on the experts’ decision to award the contract to Electrogas.
A report by the Auditor General found the Electrogas bid did not comply with minimum requirements to win the contract to build a new gas-fired power station and supply LNG to Enemalta on “multiple instances".
'I never saw evaluation reports'
Mangion defended the ratification, saying it was in line with the government’s policy to switch to LNG.
“I never saw the evaluation reports, I relied on the briefing given by the CEO prior to the ratification vote”.
Times of Malta revealed last year how another board member, Lara Boffa, voted against the contract being awarded to Electrogas, as she felt the presentation given during the October 12, 2013 board meeting did not provide sufficient information.
Questioned about Boffa’s vote, Mangion said all board members were free to ask for more information or raise questions during the board meeting.
Mangion said the board had nothing to do with the evaluation process, and he personally made sure to steer clear of the matter due to his potential conflict of interest due to his work for Tumas Group.
Asked why he did not abstain from the vote given this declared conflict of interest, Mangion repeated that the board was simply ratifying a decision that had already been taken.
Changing the goal posts
Mangion was also questioned about a decision to change the terms of the tender halfway through the evaluation process.
The former Enemalta chairman said the board had just been presented with the evaluation committee’s conclusions to award the contract to Electrogas.
Mangion said he “does not think” the board was notified about the changes to the tender terms.
The Auditor General flagged in a voluminous report published in 2018 how the changes had effectively shifted all the risk from the bidder onto Enemalta and the government.
An official from the Auditor General’s office explained on Tuesday how shifting the goalposts at the second phase of the evaluation process went against best practices.
At that stage, some bidders had already been eliminated, the official confirmed.
The official refused to be drawn into whether the changes should have led to the tender being cancelled and re-issued.