Enemalta handed out a total of just over €2 million in direct orders split across seven companies for unspecified trenching works last May, data published in the Government Gazette earlier this month shows.
Bonnici Brothers Ltd, Peter Plant Ltd, Carmel Camilleri, Polidano Bros, Road Maintenance Services Ltd, V&C Contractors Ltd, and Philip Agius & Sons Ltd all received €291,231.80 each in direct orders on 10 May 2023 for works simply described as “Trenching.”
Several of these companies are well-known particularly in the construction field: Bonnici Brothers for instance have received millions of euros in direct orders from the Labour government over the course of the past years, while Polidano Bros – led by Charles Polidano, who is better known as ‘ic-Caqnu’, and which was blacklisted by Infrastructure Malta in 2020 because of a tax bill worth some €40 million which stretched back all the way to the 1990s – needs little introduction. Polidano’s tax issues were settled last year after he reached a deal with tax authorities, which saw him hand over a figure understood to be at least €20 million.
Questions about the direct orders sent to Enemalta were not answered by the time of writing, despite several reminders.
The questions, which were sent at the start of the month, sought answers as to why the contracts were handed out on a direct order basis; whether a tender for the works was ever published and if not, why; how the companies were selected in order to receive the direct orders in question; and what specific type of work they were engaged to do.
These were not the only direct orders handed out for trenching works. Two separate direct orders – each worth €200,000 – were granted for a ‘Framework Agreement for Emergency Trenching Works in Malta (On Call).’
These went to Matthew Bongailas and GA Services Ltd. Once again, there is no indication of the possibility of such an agreement was opened for a tender submission.
Bongailas is a massive, self-professed supporter of Robert Abela’s administration, and he subsequently had encouraged party members to vote for the now-Prime Minister in the Labour Party leadership race.
V&C Contractors Ltd meanwhile also received a further €321,997.05 in the form of a direct order for “Trenching And Cable Laying Works Of The Proposed Lv Cable From Mellieha Santa Maria Est No.1 Substation And Lv Cables From Mellieħa Santa Maria Est. No. 2 Substation.”
The details emerge from a list of 132 direct orders issued in the first half of 2023 which were published by Enemalta in the Government Gazette at the start of December.