Transport Minister Joe Mizzi is refusing to publish the findings of an inquiry tasked with probing claims of abuse and wrongdoing regarding a tender issued by his ministry.

Though requests for a copy of the findings remained unanswered, a spokeswoman for the Transport Ministry indicated that no wrongdoing intended to favour anyone had been found.

The inquiry was ordered after the Times of Malta reported in October that the deadline of a public tender issued for the procurement of oils by the Transport Ministry’s Manufacturing and Services Directorate had been extended by one hour just minutes before the set deadline expired.

The ministry suspended the award of the tender soon after the publication of the news report and ordered an inquiry to find out what had happened and whether any disciplinary procedures were to be taken against any officials.

The inquiry report was submitted to the ministry early last month, but its contents remain under wraps. Asked to at least confirm that the report, penned by a board led by lawyer Leonard Caruana, had presented its conclusions, a spokeswoman for minister Mizzi said that this had happened on December 12.

However, when asked for a copy, no reply was forthcoming despite several reminders.

“The report includes various recommendations related to the improvement of administrative practices,” the spokeswoman said without elaborating.

“The board of inquiry did not find there was any wrongdoing intended to discriminate in favour of any of the bidders in question,” she added.

The bidders were furious when the deadline was “surprisingly” extended by an hour.

Questions were raised about whether this extension was made to accommodate some of the bidders, who had yet not finalised their submissions, or to make possible some last-minute changes by others.

This newspaper is informed that eight submissions were received for the tender to supply a two-year-consignment of hydraulic, engine and transmission oils.

Offers after the extended deadline were received from Go Fuels, Joem Autoparts, VRT Services, Sambro Service Station, Palm Shipping, Falzon Fuel, Cassar Fuel and Mizzi Automotive.

It is not yet known whether the tender will be re-issued or whether its evaluation continued according to the offers submitted in the original tender.