The way in which a government conducts itself in its business transactions has an immediate impact on public opinion and the public’s trust in good government.

With the considerable size and scope of government business transactions it is crucially important that all stakeholders have confidence in the adjudication process through which public property is transferred to private entities.

It is becoming increasingly common for the public to get to know important information relating to the assignment of publicly-owned property through the media. When this information is made public as a result of ‘a big mistake’ committed by a third party in an adjudication process that is still in progress, the people’s trust in the adjudication process is badly shaken.

This is what appears to have happened when the Milan studio of Chapman Taylor – acting on behalf of Kalamarine Developments Consortium, who are bidding for the development of a 220,000 square metre coastline construction development in Qala – gave details of their plans for this site. This happened at a time when it was clear that the adjudication process is still ongoing.

A Chapman Taylor spokesman declared that “this was an internal mistake which has now created a big mess”.

The Prime Minister wondered why so much “fuss” was being made about this mistake which, he pointed out, was beyond the government’s control.

These comments are certainly not enough to put Maltese’s taxpayers minds at rest that government plans to dispose of public property are based on a transparent adjudication process. Transparency helps in ensuring that any deviations from fair and equal treatment are detected very early and makes them less likely to occur. It protects the integrity of the adjudication process as well as the interests of the public.

The Office of the Prime Minister and the Gozo Ministry did not do much to strengthen the adjudication process when they communicated the information to the public. A lot of explanation still needs to be done on this and other cases where public land is earmarked to be transferred to private entities.

A government that is not transparent is more prone to corruption and undue influence because there is no public oversight of decision-making.

A transparent adjudication process for the granting of land at Żonqor Point and the Qala coastline leaves much to be desired. There is urgent need for a clean-up of the adjudication process for public property. The first step that needs to be taken is for members of the adjudication board for public contracts to be appointed purely on their experience, integrity and ability to resist undue influence when deciding what is in the best interests of the public.

Access to reliable information about government negotiations on the disposal of public property should be easily accessible to the public. This is a vital safeguard against abuse of power and helps in the improvement of competition and the relationship between all stakeholders involved in a particular project.

All those involved in negotiations must also adhere to a code of ethics and declare conflicts of interest as soon as they become apparent. The actual negotiation process should be supported by professional staff. Thus, the government needs to allocate the financial and human resources necessary to undertake a proper assessment that is inspired by ‘transparency friendliness’.

After all, democracy is also about knowledgeable citizens who have adequate access to information about how their government decides on the priorities that involve the granting of public property to private entities.

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