A spokesman for Transport Malta admitted yesterday that despite all audit systems in place “...no system can ever be completely watertight and will always rely to some extent on individual integrity”.

Transport Malta was asked about its audit system and how inflated payments, by as much as 100 per cent, could have gone unnoticed for so long.

The spokesman said Transport Malta had an internal audit committee that regularly assigned audits to specialist third parties and which contributed to the ongoing internal processes review and systems upgrade of the internal audit system.

“Notwithstanding the audit systems in place and constant efforts to improve internal controls, no system can ever be completely watertight and will always rely to some extent on individual integrity. However, it would not have identified past issues,” the spokesman said.

Moreover, apart from its own internal audit, Transport Malta processes are also open to scrutiny by the National Audit Office and the Internal Audit and Investigations Department within the Prime Minister’s Office.

It was not possible to get on the record comments by politicians and industry captains with MPs, former transport ministers or even the Chamber of Architects that declined to comment.

However, sources close to the industry pointed out that any works contract issued by a public authority, including local councils, usually had a 10 per cent contingency for unexpected work that would not have been calculated when the estimate was compiled. Anything in excess of this – investigators said the costs were sometimes jacked up by as much as 100 per cent – should have raised alarm, the sources said. This would apply even to cases where no one tender was issued but where a public authority instead would assign work to certain contractors on the basis of a pre-negotiated rate.

In these cases, the architect in charge would need to seek clearance for the over-runs from his direct superior or a person in a higher rank once it surpassed the 10 per cent mark.