Who should and shouldn’t be allowed to win government tenders?

Well for one, those in court over serious criminal charges should definitely not benefit from public funds. For another, those without the knowhow in an area they are tendering for should be excluded, as should those which lack the necessary financials to go through with a project.

We need strong vetting procedures that would, for instance, not allow another Vitals Global Healthcare debacle to ensue. God knows how much money was thrown down the drain because of Joseph Muscat’s government’s blunder on that front. Incompetence is one word that comes to mind when one looks at the way that deal was handled, and in all honesty a serious investigation to check if there was any wrongdoing must take place into it.

Last week, The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry reiterated its call for vetting bidders properly in public procurement tendering processes for administrative compliance.

The chamber said that the responsibility for ensuring full compliance, and more so administrative and technical compliance, lies squarely with the Department of Contracts and the Contracting authorities. We would partially agree with this statement, but would also say that the ministers responsible for this department are also responsible.

“The business community and the public in general has had enough of cowboys running roughshod over good governance and clean business,” it said.

The chamber said that “false declarations with regard to fiscal or financial status, non-payment of taxes, non-filing of financial statements or the filing of financial statements showing gravely insolvent positions, repeated reports of malpractice to consumer protection authorities, and the institution of criminal proceedings with serious accusation should all trigger alarm bells to blacklist operators and even suspend and withdraw running contracts if the gravity of the case warrants so. This is an effective way of enforcing compliance and cleaning the market of rogue operators,” it added.

The government must heed these words of warning. Having the mentality that anything goes will mean that honest businesses will suffer due to abuse and corruption.

Clean and good businesses have had enough. The honest public have had enough. Prime Minister Robert Abela has been trying to clean the stain on Malta that was left by the previous administration, but there is still a long way to go. He’s made some headway, but there is still a lot to be done. The recent news that a company linked to alleged kidnapper Christian Borg was formally awarded a €250,000 tender by Transport Malta for the provision of 41 vehicles is worrying.

The government needs to get its act together and ensure that good businesses are rewarded for keeping clean and honest, while those that are surrounded by dark clouds are not.