Transport Malta has still to move some of its offices to a property in Marsa owned by the General Workers’ Union, which should have been made available by September last year.
A tender awarded to the GWU laid down that the premises had to be completed and ready for use by September 2014. However, when the Times of Malta visited the premises recently it was evident that refurbishment work is nowhere near completion.
At the time of the visit, towards the end of the working week at about 9am, only one worker was seen on site handling boxes containing pieces of furniture still to be mounted. Many of the offices were bare and required plastering, tiling, soffits and light installations.
The building, which consists of two floors and an underground car park in the still-vacant A3 towers in Marsa, was leased to Transport Malta for €500,000 a year. The property was selected by the transport watchdog following a request for proposals (RFP). It was not the cheapest offer among the six submitted.
The Marsa premises were acquired by the GWU in 2010 for €1.7 million.
The Marsa premises were acquired by the GWU in 2010 for €1.7 million
Asked why Transport Malta had not yet moved into the Marsa offices despite the contractual obligations, a Transport Ministry spokeswoman failed to reply. Instead, she referred this newspaper to a reply to a parliamentary question by Minster Joe Mizzi more than a year ago.
In his reply to Nationalist MP Toni Bezzina in October 2014, Mr Mizzi had said Transport Malta was expected to start operating from the GWU building “between June and the end of 2015”.
Asked to state whether the GWU was already receiving its €500,000 annual rent, the ministry did not reply either.
It could not be established whether the GWU is incurring any penalties listed in the original RFP for delays in the completion date.
The Marsa building is the second GWU property to be leased to the government since Labour returned to power in 2013. Part of its headquarters in Valletta – the Workers Memorial Building – was last year leased to ARMS Ltd for €62,000 a year. The National Audit Office last week said the lease agreement was irregular and recommended that the Attorney General starts legal proceedings against the GWU.
TRANSPORT MALTA EXPLAINS
In a reaction today (Friday) Transport Malta said it will start paying the annual rent onceis starts operating from the building.
"The contractor, that is due to finish the property, has not completed the works yet. Unfortunately, the works were delayed as burglars broke in and stole all the wiring. The wiring is being re-done," TM said.
"The property in Marsa was selected after a rigorous tendering process vetted by the Department of Contracts and public procurement regulations. No appeals were filed."