Transport Malta broke rules on pre-election €500,000 spend

Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi concluded that Transport Malta broke its own rules on procurement and direct orders on an exhibition for a metro organised before the 2022 general elections but exonerated Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg.

The complaint, by Arnold Cassola, among others, and reports on The Shift, concerned 20 direct orders by the Transport Authority amounting to half a million euro for the organisation of an exhibition on the plans for a metro by the company TEC.

The company has regularly been in the news for being awarded direct orders after organising events for the Labour Party in government, particularly around election time.

The Shift revealed that Transport Malta had issued 20 separate direct orders – to avoid issuing a tender – to The Events Company (TEC) to organise the launch of its embryonic Metro proposal when Borg was transport minister.

According to the three-page quote sent to Transport Malta for the event and obtained through a Freedom of Information request by The Shift, TEC charged the transport regulator much higher fees for its services than competitors usually charge.

For example, apart from a staggering €40,000 for a marquee tent, TEC’s Charles Magro charged Transport Malta tens of thousands of euros in additional costs for the tent’s decorations, including €50,000 to hire LED screens, €15,000 for wood flooring, €24,000 for draping, €22,000 for air conditioning (though the event was held in October) and €33,000 to light the tent’s perimeter.

For the launch of the activity itself, which lasted less than an hour and was attended by the prime minister, TEC Ltd charged taxpayers almost €70,000, including a €3,000 bill for the services of a videographer, €800 for a floor manager, and almost €800 for a ‘luxury toilet’ for Minister Ian Borg’s guests.

Yet, the Standards Commissioner exonerated Minister Borg, saying that since the Transport Authority organised the exhibition, the transport minister at the time was not involved. This contradicts other rulings by the Standards Commissioner in which he says the minister was responsible for the actions of staff.

As to the charge that Minister Borg did not answer questions in parliament correctly and completely in this regard, the Standards Commissioner ruled that this was for the Speaker of the House to investigate.

The Standards Commissioner, however, ruled that procurement regulations be amended so that those who did not obey the regulations were fined.