Report calls for authorities to create a clearer structure for handling whistleblower information
Malta has the institutions and the laws to protect people who expose wrongdoing in public contracts, but no clear guide on where such concerns should go, a new study has found.
A person who suspects a tender has been rigged has no single, standardised route to follow, according to a report by Repubblika, produced under the EU-funded poWer project.
At least 10 bodies could be involved in whistleblower reports, with no national referral map or common protocol linking them.
The study, completed on September 30 and published on Friday, notes that Malta has a generally comprehensive framework of institutions and laws to protect whistleblowers, but various other problems make it difficult for the system to operate effectively.
Arguably the biggest issue is the lack of a standardised system to process reports about impropriety in public contracts.
When a whistleblower reports such wrongdoing, that report can land with the Department of Contracts, the Public Contracts Review Board, the National Audit Office, the Permanent Commission Against Corruption, the Police, the Internal Audit and Investigations Directorate or the Ombudsman.
The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, Malta Financial Services Authority or the Commissioner for Revenue may also have a role, depending on the allegation.
While each of those authorities has different mandates, the report noted that...
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