SME Chamber

Valletta Local Council: A case that leads to reflection

We as GRTU are not against Local
Councils who want better for their Locality in whatever service, however the
tender document issued has to be followed and adhered to. Decisions of the
Local Council have to be taken in line with the tender document.

We surely feel that it is the
ripe time that the Government should set up Adjudication Board/s in a number of
different sectors related to the day to day running of Local Councils. Tenders
relating to Waste Managment amongst others should be adjudicated by competent
persons appionted by Government through its different Ministries or
stakeholders, this both to protect public funds and also to provide a
transparent and level playing field. The Board would then adjudicate all Waste
Managment tenders issued by all Local Councils.

Over and over again, GRTU has
been inundated with allegations by contractors who operate in the waste
managment sector that Local Councils award the tenders to whoever they want.
Whilst this cannot be accepted as a blanket statement, we are sure somewhere
something is wrong. Whatever is wrong needs to be addressed and solutions
found.

Valletta Local Council has
clearly shown that it does not respect Public Procurement Regulations,
instructions given to it by the Public Contracts Review Board, and  instructions forwarded by the Department of
Local Government. Can all these Authorities be in the wrong and Valletta Local
Council be in the right?

We are of the opinion that there
is more to these three tenders than what one sees at face value today. Going
through the saga that started from early 2012 to date shows one trail, a trail
of arrogance and half truths which can never be accepted by the business
community in this sector. This sector has had enough and all it needs is the
continued arrogance of a Local Council like Valletta. If Valletta Local Council
have got away with all this, why wouldnt any other Local Council follow suit?
Is this the way forward?

Article
written by Joe Attard, GRTU Official responsible for Waste, Energy, Transport
and Environment.

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