Chamber Presents Public Procurement Proposals To Department of Contracts

A delegation of The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry presented the recently launched Public Procurement Reform Report 2021 to the Director of the Department of Contracts, Mr Anthony Cachia.

“It is vital to harmonise all our collective efforts in order to effectively implement measures that will ensure good governance through public procurement. The numerous proposals within this document require a substantial amount of investment, however, as Malta’s foremost business representative body, we strongly believe that this would be a true example of smart investment, as it would lead to a wide array of economic benefits,” noted The Chamber President, Perit David Xuereb.

During the meeting, Xuereb was pleased to hear that certain proposals within the report were already being implemented to provide a more transparent and fair public procurement process that is driven by the highest standards of good governance.

“As a Chamber of Commerce, we acknowledge the complexity that such a process may entail, and although steps forward are being taken to provide a level-playing field for all, more needs to be done, especially in terms of direct orders and blacklisting,” explained The Chamber President.

The document was developed after a consultation process with its members and through a working group of experienced individuals and professionals from across the economy. The document serves as valuable guidance for the necessary reforms that are needed, in order to ensure that economic operators are able to perform on an equitable level playing field when tendering for government purchase requests.

These reforms also serve to ensure that national funds are deployed to their best potential and in the interest of the general public.

The Working Group was led by Vice President Ms Liz Barbaro Sant, and included Former President Mr Anton Borg, Council member Mr Marcel K. Mifsud, and members Ms Maronna Filletti, Ms Mary Gaerty, and Mr Roderick Abela. The group was assisted by Policy Executive Ms Julia Aquilina, while Dr Clement Mifsud Bonnici (Ganado Advocates) was the professional advisor on the process. The document presented was developed in collaboration with Ganado Advocates.