The Shift can reveal that more than half of the €81 million dished out in new contracts for the care of the elderly in privately run homes last year ended up in the coffers of mega contractor Paul Attard of the GAP Group.

Through a system of direct orders, which the government resists changing despite its lack of accountability and transparency, Attard was awarded three separate contracts in a year, with a total value of €53.6 million.

Through his newly established Plan Group PLC, Attard is the sole shareholder of two massive elderly residences – Porziuncola Care Home in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq and Golden Care Home in Għargħur.

Attard is the secretary general of the Malta Development Association (MDA) and has been involved in several shady deals involving the transfer of public land for the building blocks of flats, the latest being a green lung in Mellieħa.

A problem of transparency, accountability

Under both PN and PL administrations, the government has been leasing beds in privately run elderly residences for years as the system is considered more cost-effective than running government homes.

However, while the amount of public funds spent on this service was modest until a few years ago, it has recently exploded, reaching more than €80 million a year in 2024.

Direct orders issued in 2024.

Despite the increase of private elderly homes across the country, all vying for lucrative government contracts, the Health Ministry is resisting change in its procurement strategy and keeps depending on direct orders.

The Active Ageing and Community Care CEO, Renzo Degabriele, insists on defending the direct orders system, arguing the government can negotiate individual charges for beds with the owners of private homes.

This has led to a hotchpotch of contracts with individual private care homes charging different rates per bed, even though they offer the same basic service.

Industry insiders told The Shift that they have been insisting on a new set of procurement rules based on clear and transparent service benchmarks.

Under these rules, the government would pay private homes the same charge while encouraging fierce competition among service providers to win public contracts by offering the best-added services possible.

This has led to many involved in the sector complaining to the authorities about many aspects of this process. At the same time, the government refuses to publish the multi-million-euro contracts negotiated by Degabriele, citing the usual “commercial sensitivity”.

The National Audit Office found that taxpayers pay €120 a day for a bed in one home while another receives just €65 a day for the same service. These charges increased since the study was concluded.

The issue of different homes being paid different rates depending on negotiations held by Degabriele’s team is just one of the problems in the area.

Industry sources cited the way in which elderly people on a waiting list are assessed and selected to enter a particular home as another major issue.

They said the system also lacked transparency and rules, increasing many people’s suspicions of favouritism and political expediency.