Accusing the government of resorting to dialogue only where it suited it, the GRTU yesterday called on the Prime Minister to withdraw the tender for computer systems for the public sector which, it said, would sound the death knell for hundreds of small industries and jobs if it went ahead.

In reply, the Investment, Industry and IT Ministry said that the GRTU was basing its opposition on wrong premises, going on to explain that what the government was doing will actually increase business for the small shops.

In its statement, the GRTU said the computer systems tender was a clear case in which the government had given up on dialogue and chosen imposition, without giving regard to the difficulties it would be creating for many who had believed the government when it claimed that it wanted to encourage the small entrepreneur, and particularly the information technology and computers sector.

The tender for 15,000 computer systems for the public sector was a serious setback to all those who in recent years had been encouraged by the government to open shops, businesses, assembly workshops, and software design and other services.

The way the tender was issued, without any discussion with the stakeholders in the sector, shamelessly ridiculed the whole argument that the government believed in dialogue, the GRTU charged. What kind of dialogue was it when a death blow was being given to hundreds of businesses and jobs?

The tender ridiculed the government’s policy over recent years, which had given good results, so much so that Malta had a healthy ICT sector which employed hundreds of young people who had obtained qualifications from the country’s institutions.

Malta was one of the few countries where the large companies did not dominate the ICT sector, with domination lying instead with a large number of small firms and self-employed people, who gave a very professional and cost effective service.

Where was the government’s credibility, the GRTU asked? Why did they have to be so hasty just months before a general election? What crisis was there in the public sector’s computer systems which was making the government throw its policy principles overboard?

This was a hopeless tender which, for instance, imposed on tenderers a bid bond of Lm25,000, 10 years’ experience in dealing with a large market, and experience of dealing with prestigious and blue chip clients. Anyone urging the small firms to join together should consider the tender carefully and stop being ridiculous, the GRTU said.

Calling on the Prime Minister to withdraw the tender, the GRTU said the message was clear: whether with the large or small sector, the tender should be withdrawn and the government stop contradicting itself.

In its reply, the ministry said that the government has several times said that before the tender call was issued, MITTS wanted to hold a meeting with the GRTU. But the GRTU never replied to calls for such a meeting, the ministry said, adding that the GRTU must understand that in such cases, consultation processes are regulated by law.

The GRTU wanted to give the impression that the only buyer of computers was the government. The latest statistics show that over 60 per cent of Maltese households have a computer and over 90 per cent of enterprises have computers. This means that the 15,000 government computers amount to less than 15 per cent of the whole computer market.

Government expenditure on computers over the last 18 months amounted to 308 laptop computers, for a value of Lm129,720 plus VAT, and 1,499 desktops with a value of Lm310,763 plus VAT, the ministry said.

In the light of this, the ministry asked whether it is true that, as the GRTU is saying, hundreds of shops will receive a death-blow because of this tender. The ministry added that 44 per cent of the laptops (136) were bought from one shop, while another 41 per cent (125) were bought from two other shops. It added that 74 per cent of the desktops were bought from two shops. The number of shops from which more than 10 laptops were bought amounted to four and the number of shops from which more than 10 desktops were bought amounted to 12.

The ministry said that the process initiated by the government will actually increase business for small enterprises, as many families will now have a computer and could become new clients for the small shops.

The GRTU’s assertions on the conditions imposed on tenderers were false, as what the government wanted was information, whereas the criteria were listed in a specific part of the call for tenders. The ministry explained that the bid bond was only a percentage of the value for which the tender is submitted. The Lm25,000 mentioned serves as a capping so that if the value is high, the bid bond does not continue to rise more than it is reasonable, the ministry said.