Eliminated consortium files protest over hospital cleaning contract

A consortium eliminated from the tender adjudication process in connection with cleaning services at the new hospital yesterday filed a judicial protest claiming that two component companies of the only remaining bidder were not legally qualified to bid.

The consortium Servizi Malta - composed of Bad Boy Cleaning Services Ltd, Euro Hygene International Ltd, MCCS Co. Ltd and Coopservice S Coop SA - filed the protest in the First Hall of the Civil Court against the Director of Contracts.

The protest follows an application for a warrant of prohibitory injunction that Servizi Malta filed against the Director of Contracts last month. In the application the consortium called on the court to stop the director from continuing with the adjudication process in connection with the award of the contract for cleaning services at Mater Dei Hospital.

The request was provisionally upheld by Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro who put the hearing off to August 14 for a final ruling.

In the protest, filed yesterday, Servizi Malta claimed that the two companies, G4S Security Services (Malta) Limited and Forestals Investments Limited, were not constituted to carry out the works according to the memorandum and articles of association laid down in the tender. This was because they were not qualified to offer cleaning services.

Servizi Malta added that it had brought all this to the attention of the Director of Contracts in a letter sent on July 20 and two e-mails sent on July 30 and August 2. But no replies were received.

Servizi Malta noted that it had been excluded from the tendering process because one of the four bid bonds they had submitted in terms of the tender lacked, by five days, a sufficiently long validity period.

This discrepancy amounted to less than one per cent. But, on the other hand, the deficiency of the remaining consortium was fundamental since granting them the tender would mean they were acting beyond their legal capacities.

Yet, despite this, the Director of Contracts had claimed that he would proceed with the tender adjudicating process unless a court issued the warrant of prohibitory injunction (expected to be decided upon on August 14) halting the process.

If the tender adjudication process went ahead Servizi Malta claimed it would suffer irremediable damage and for this reason the consortium held the Director of Contracts liable in damages.

Lawyer Andrew Borg Cardona signed the protest.