Freedom of Information
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Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act (Cap. 496) aims to establish a right to information held by public authorities in order to promote transparency and accountability in Government.

In terms of article 17(1) of the Freedom of Information Act, every relevant public authority shall publish information describing the authority's structure, functions and responsibilities together with a general description of the categories of documents held by it, and a description of all manuals and similar types of documents which contain policies, principles, rules or guidelines in accordance with which decisions or recommendations are made in respect of members of the public.

 

Structure, Functions and Responsibilities of the Department of Contracts 

The Department of Contracts falls within the portfolio of the Ministry for Finance and Employment (MFE). The principal mission of the Department is to have the necessary administrative structures in place so that public procurement is carried out on the principles of fairness, transparency and non-discrimination between economic operators. The aims, objectives and responsibilities of the Department are set out in the Public Contracts Regulations, Subsidiary Legislation 174.04. The Department is headed by the Director General (Contracts), who oversees three directorates headed by the Director (Policy Development and Programme Implementation), the Director (Administration) and the Director (Operations). The Directorates are complemented by a number of Senior Managers responsible for pre-contract matters, post-contract matters, policy and support services which in turn are supported by a number of middle management positions.


General description of the categories of documents held
 

The Department of Contracts holds documents falling under the following categories:

  • Documents relating to the issuance of new calls for tenders
  • Tender Document and Evaluation Report templates
  • Tender Documents
  • Schedules of Tenders Received
  • Bid Documentation submitted by tenderers
  • Evaluation Reports
  • Minutes of Meetings of the workings of the General Contracts Committee
  • Award Recommendations
  • Notices and Letters of Objection in terms of Legal Notice 296 of 2010
  • Contracts and addenda
  • Tender Guarantees
  • Contract Completion Reports
  • Official Journal of the EU Forms (such as Contract Notice and Contract Award Notice)
  • Annual Reports on the workings of the Department of Contracts
  • Personal files of employees of the Department


Description of all manuals and similar types of documents

The Department of Contracts, within the Ministry for Finance and Employment, holds the following documents, in accordance with which, decisions or recommendations by Adjudication Committees are made:

  • Contracts Circulars
  • GCC Recommendations
  • Manual for Evaluation Committees
  • Procurement Policy Notes
  • Workings of the General Contracts Committee (GCC)


Details of Internal Complaints Procedure

An applicant whose request for information is refused, or who is otherwise not satisfied with the information provided, its format or the extension of the deadline for the submission of the notification indicating whether a request would be met or not, may address a complaint to the Department of Contracts.

The complaint should be addressed to the Department’s FOI Officer, who shall bring the complaint to the attention of the Director General (Contracts). The officer responsible shall reply to the applicant within 10 working days from the receipt of the complaint. The applicant shall also be informed that he or she may appeal the decision or otherwise address a complaint to the Information and Data Protection Commissioner in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (Cap. 496 of the Laws of Malta).

The officer responsible shall inform the applicant of the decision taken with respect to his or her complaint, and in the event of confirmation of a decision not to release the pertinent information, shall explain the reasons thereof. Whenever the applicant’s complaint is related to the format of the information provided or to an extension of the deadline for the submission of the notification indicating whether a request would be met or not by the Department, and the original decision is upheld, the applicant shall be given an explanation as to why his or her complaint cannot be positively addressed.


Other Information

Emails will be acknowledged by not later than the next working day.  The Front Office of the Department is open as follows:

Winter (1st October – 15th June) – 8.30am to 2.00pm
Summer (16th June – 30th September) – 8.30am to 1.30pm

Forms may be downloaded from the website (www.contracts.gov.mt).


Contact Details

The  Department  of  Contracts  is  situated  at  Notre  Dame  Ravelin,  FLORIANA   FRN 1600,  (MALTA)  and  the Freedom of Information Officer and the alternate Freedom of Information Officer for the department may be contacted on +356 2378 1001, by email on:

foi.contracts@gov.mt

or through:

Contact Us

on the Department's website:

http://www.contracts.gov.mt/


 
Links

​FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

The Freedom of Information Act and other related details