Communications Minister Austin Gatt has accused Labour MP Evarist Bartolo, PL spokesman on education, of interfering in a contract tendering process with the intention of putting pressure on public officials.

Dr Gatt was referring to a statement by Mr Bartolo yesterday, who said he was later this month meeting the chairman of the Malta Information Technology Agency to explain why he had made statements about what he considered to be irregularities in the tender award process of a contract for ICT diploma courses which are partly funded by the EU.

Mr Bartolo said he considered it his duty to pass to the MITA board the information he had. He added that in the last months he had drawn attention to shortcomings in the tender award process and he was pleased that these shortcomings had been addressed and stopped, without him being accused either by the minister of education or MCAST of interfering in the process.

Dr Gatt, however, yesterday accused him of interfering and trying to influence public officials to decide according to the interest of the person making the pressure or of someone else. In their public duties, Dr Gatt said, public administrators should be free of political interference, not only from the government but also from opposition politicians.

Mr Bartolo, Dr Gatt charged, had interfered directly when the law stipulated that if someone saw something amiss an appeal should be made under the law. Mr Bartolo was sullying public officials on the basis of “what is being said” and the conclusion had to be that he had ulterior motives or was promoting the ulterior motives of someone else, Dr Gatt said.