The Auditor General, Mr Anthony C. Mifsud has presented to the Speaker the Report “Public Procurement analysis through case studies 2007 to 2009.” This exercise was carried out by the National Audit Office in the light of the need for efficient management of public procurement particularly in view of prevailing financial and economic situations locally and abroad.
The main objectives of the exercise were to determine, in the case study tenders selected, whether the processes complied with prevailing legislation and led to the attainment of value for money.
Salient findings emanating from the exercise and featuring in the Report follow:
· Tender documents were well prepared and were deemed to contain all the necessary information/sections and provisos/clauses, helping to reduce ambiguity and objections
· Departmental estimates were, on occasion, grossly overestimated, potentially inhibiting the attainment of value for money
· The Department of Contracts maintained its legally-stipulated role, ensuring smoother running processes
· Evaluation and Adjudication Committees were staffed by the same officials – Contracting Authorities do not take advantage of the possibility to have members’ skills matching tasks
· Post award negotiations were encountered. While none of the instances could have changed the outcome of the tender proceedings, NAO advises caution in recourse to such activity
· Permits from competent authorities were sought during tender planning stage, reducing potential time/cost overruns during project implementation
· In instances, the centralised filing/minuting system was maintained in a deficient manner. When coupled with staff turnaround, this resulted in organisational amnesia
· Technical capabilities of the General Contracts Committee are doubtful. Prevailing legislation allowed for the creation of Special Contracts Committees, but this option was never utilised
· Tender award regulations were adhered to, reducing the risk of appeal lodgement and promoting corporate image
· Appeals lodged were handled in full compliance with prevailing legislation, with appellants not contesting the decision
· Cases of artificially-induced emergencies, triggering claims for urgency impinged negatively on bidder outreach during launch and potentially damaged the corporate image
· A continuous liaison between the Department of Contracts and the Contracting Authorities ensured a smoother running of the tendering processes
· Contracting Authorities in general observed ethical considerations when setting up committees
· Evaluation and Adjudication Committees’ recommendations were submitted to the General Contracts Committees in the form of a report, resulting in the creation of a robust audit trail
· Carrying out the same tests under LN296 (2010) and LN 107 (2011) legislation did not change the proceedings or the outcome of any of the case study tenders selected
In its Report, on the basis of the above, the National Audit Office opines that tender processing was carried out in a manner that was, in general, compliant with legislation for the five case studies under review. However, the Office feels that shortcomings identified need immediate addressing.
This Report can be found on the NAO website – www.nao.gov.mt [1] as from Tuesday.