The Labour Party’s spokesman for foreign affairs and information technology Leo Brincat said he could not accept Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt’s proposal to nominate representatives on the committees that have been appointed to analyse tenders for a huge IT contract.

In a letter sent to Dr Gatt, Mr Brincat said there were two reasons why he could not accept the proposal. Primarily, he said, the Labour Party had serious doubts about the way the tender was structured.

According to Mr Brincat, the conditions stipulated in the tender document would place a considerable number of small and medium-sized enterprises at a disadvantage.

The conditions could only be met by a few large enterprises and this would not create a commercially fair and level playing field, he said.

In addition, the timing of the tender was not right,

particularly since the country was so close to a general

election and it was clear that it was intended to bind the new government with regard to the way it would operate for an entire five years.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the Investment, Industry and IT Ministry expressed disappointment that the opposition and one of its spokesmen have been making a number of unfounded allegations and avoiding every opportunity to substantiate their claims.

Dr Gatt said he had invited the Labour MP to nominate representatives precisely because he (Mr Brincat) has been alleging that the tender process was characterised by certain irregularities, even if the selection process had not yet begun.

The ministry rebutted Mr Brincat’s reasons for refusing to accept its proposal, saying that the reasons were superficial and unfounded.

The structure of the tender was in line with established regulations for public procurement, said the ministry. Furthermore, neither the conditions of the tender, nor its timing, in any way made the process unfair or prejudiced.