The Nationalist Party is defending Wasteserv’s procurement policies under its administration, saying the Auditor General’s critical report did not take into account the fact waste management was “uncharted territory”.
The report by the National Audit Office, entitled ‘An analysis of Wasteserv Malta Ltd’s procurement: a case study perspective’, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, analysed five case studies of contracts amounting to a total value of €34.2 million.
Rehabilitation of dumpsites had not been done before
It found substantial variations between the operator’s estimates and contracted amounts.
The report reveals that improvements to the Sant’Antnin plant cost €6 million more than projected, while the construction of a leisure area at the Marsascala Family Park cost 53 per cent more than estimated, requiring an additional investment of €600,000.
NAO deemed it “unacceptable” for Wasteserv to resort to such a level of variation and deviation from the original tender estimate and contract value.
In the period reviewed in the report, Wasteserv was the responsibility of former resources minister George Pullicino, sparking an immediate reaction from the party on its content.
Mr Pullicino refused to answer any further questions.
In its statement, the PN raised “technological developments” and “stipulated time frames” that had to be taken into account.
The party also said the rehabilitation of dumpsites “had not been done before” and that Wasteserv projects were implemented in “uncharted territory”.
Such projects were the first of their kind and the Auditor General should have acknowledged the difficulty the team faced in estimating costs, the party said.
In its defence, the PN pointed out that the Department of Contracts had approved the projects.
But the NAO report said that Wasteserv’s failure to ensure robust project planning for the Sant’Antnin plant had conditioned the Department of Contract’s vetting process, “forcing its endorsement to avoid jeopardising the project’s funding and implementation”.