Let’s not forget: Chris Cardona had also interfered in the casino tender process last year
Lots of people have forgotten already – I am one of them, and had to be reminded by a reader – that this is not the first time that Economy Minister Chris Cardona has interfered personally and directly in the casino tender process.
This time, he ordered that the tender review technical committee be disbanded, citing “conflict of interest among its members” despite all the members having declared there was no such conflict.
Cardona has not said where he saw this conflict, or with whom.
In July last year, when Labour had been in government for just four months and he a minister for the same brief period, Cardona interfered directly in the choice of legal advisors for the casino tender process. The Privatisation Unit chose firm X but Cardona over-ruled the Privatisation Unit and personally selected firm Y.
The Privatisation Unit’s chairman, Emanuel Ellul, then resigned citing “health reasons”.
Below you will find links to some of the relevant newspaper reports of the time.
The National Audit Office’s report on its investigation into procurement of legal services can be read in full here:
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http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130716/local/-I-had-every-right-to-overrule-privatisation-unit-minister.478143
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130714/local/Minister-intervenes-in-tender-outcome.477820
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130714/local/counter-claims-over-privatisation-unit-advice.477987
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130717/local/Muscat-Privatisation-Unit-didn-t-need-to-be-involved.478288
This is like Gang Rape by Labour.
Il-PN ma jibdiex (mall-HAZEN) ta’ l-MLP
Onesta : Meritokrazija :Trasparenza
With Manwel Mallia’s promotion of a political system based on Mafia type “protection” and this sort of hijacking of tender processes by Cardona turning losers into winners, I don’t know why it does but it reminds me of a dream I once had, sometime in the golden years, of small brown paper bags.
I remember someone having their card neatly snipped in two at a supermarket check out. Porsche Turbo parked outside.
Lidl?
This is an extract from the Auditor’s investigation into the procurement of legal services for the Privatisation Unit, to assist in the award of a casino licence:
“The re-ranking process carried out directly by Minister Chris Cardona and Parliamentary Secretary Edward Zammit Lewis detracted from the process’s overall level of transparency. Further accentuating this concern is the fact that the document submitted by Minister MEIB with respect to how the re-ranking process was carried out had various shortcomings.”
The full report can be viewed here: http://www.nao.gov.mt/page.aspx?id=38
An Analysis of the Sourcing of Legal Services with respect to the Granting of Concessions to Operate Two Casinos.
[Daphne – I have uploaded this meanwhile.]
All the innocence talk before the election has gone down the drain. We are seeing the real wolf beneath the sheep’s clothing. Something had to give for an 18000 swing.
Daphne,
The people are now suffering from corruption-cases memory overload. I believe that this is part of the pirates’ leader’s real road map.
I strongly agree that “The people are now suffering from corruption cases memory overload” and something must be done to remedy this.
Keeping a ‘page’ with all the cases of deceit, corruption and cronyism, and all the infringements of democracy and correct parliamentary practices during this legislature, would prove extremely useful at refreshing our collective memories.
It should be regularly updated and posted to all the switchers we know of – just to keep rubbing it in for landing us all in this sewer for the next 3 years at least.
Did you forget this intervention?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130817/local/MPs-ask-Auditor-General-to-probe-Cardona-interference.482390
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130715/local/Cardona-explains-intervention-in-legal-contract-adjudication.478004
Old habits die hard!
Chris Cardona – the worst offender as an election candidate for sending unsolicited spam SMS messages, recipients list obtained, certainly, by questionable means, since I and others I know receiving his messages certainly never signed up to it.
The signs were there even at that early stage.
Is he nuts ? Stopping an adjudication process in its final stages is not a direct involvement ?
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-11-19/local-news/Minister-says-he-did-not-involve-himself-in-casino-license-process-but-merely-halted-it-6736125991