FTS tenderer had told minister of ‘disgusting’ procurement system

An FTS tenderer was left with a feeling of “disgust” when he realised that there was only one way bids submitted as part of the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools tendering process could be successful.

Emails seen by MaltaToday show how the tenderer had warned Education Minister Evarist Bartolo in 2015 – a year before allegations were raised by Philip Rizzo – of the unfair competition in the tender specifications issued by the FTS and the involvement of FTS procurement officer Edward Caruana.

MaltaToday on Sunday reported that a supplier who had tendered for school furniture had complained that Caruana – Bartolo’s canvasser since 1992 – suggested contacting Sandro Ciliberti, a furniture supplier. 

MaltaToday erroneously reported that, following the complaint, Bartolo had asked Philip Rizzo to meet the complainant. Rizzo at the time was still chief executive officer at the employment agency ETC (today JobsPlus).

What however happened was that, following the complaint raised in April 2015, Bartolo told the tenderer that he would “follow up”. The tenderer then received a phone call setting up a meeting with Joseph Caruana, permanent secretary at the Education Ministry. But to the tenderer’s surprise, present for the meeting there was also Bartolo’s former driver: it was at this point that the tenderer realised that Joseph Caruana and Edward Caruana were brothers.

It all started in December 2014, when the tenderer met Bartolo expressing interest to start bidding for FTS tenders. Bartolo said he would set him up with the person responsible.

In January 2015, the tenderer met Edward Caruana for talks. The tenderer showed him brochures of the furniture he could supply and Edward Caruana explained the process and how and where he could apply for the tender documents.

Between January and February 2015, the tenderer submitted a number of bids for the supply of furniture for schools around Malta and Gozo. 

In the beginning of April 2015, the tenderer received a phone call from Edward Caruana explaining that a number of the bids had good prices, but they were not winning material due to the specific requirements of the furniture. Edward Caruana then put the tenderer in contact with Ciliberti who would in turn put the tenderer in contact with an Italian manufacturer – Camillo Siriani – whose furniture design would make the bid successful.

Ciliberti met the tenderer with a quotation. According to the allegation, Ciliberti had boasted that all winners of tenders would have to turn to him because only he had a unique “certification of design”.

The tenderer has alleged that the Italian manufacturer not only boasted that his designs have consistently won FTS tenders for the past 12 years, but he even knew what the Maltese tenderer himself had submitted. 

In essence, the allegation raised with the minister was that the specific requirements of the FTS tender made it impossible for anyone to win the tender, despite having the cheapest bid, with the exception of those who went through Ciliberti and the Italian manufacturer. 

Following this meeting, the tenderer spoke to Bartolo by phone to explain what had happened. The following day, the tenderer received a phone call from Ciliberti, showing him that he was aware that he had gone to the minister.

The tenderer took up the matter with Bartolo, explaining the Ciliberti link and how the system was working. The minister said that he would “follow up”, and the tenderer was called in for a meeting with Joseph Caruana, the permanent secretary.

But to his surprise, the tenderer also found Edward Caruana present for the meeting that took place at Joseph Caruana’s office, after hours. Upon seeing this, the tenderer told Caruana that he had nothing to say: his concern had been about his brother, Edward, and the tendering process.