Ms S. Bugeja

In response to the article published in The Malta Independent on Sunday on 10 July 2005, entitled Two bids for equity commission PR tender rejected (page 9), the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) would like to point out the following clarifications.

While the undersigned was the chair of the Evaluation Committee, she did not have any responsibility in the rejection of the bids submitted by Associated News Group (ANG) and JP Advertising. The said bids were rejected at a pre-evaluation stage, since they failed to meet the requirements of the tender document, and the standard requirements of public procurement as established by LN 299 of 2003.

In any case, the undersigned had no influence during the tender opening session, as it is

administered by officials of the Department of Contracts.

Finally, it should be noted that the chairperson of the Evaluation Committee does not have any voting rights during the evaluation process.

Sina Bugeja MSc (Wales); FRSH; MIM

Executive Director

NCPE