Specific conditions raising eyebrows on ‘tainted’ AIMS premises tender

A public call by the beleaguered Authority for the Integrity in Sports (AIMS) to lease new offices is raising eyebrows within government circles, particularly over specific conditions which point towards a predetermined outcome.

The call, issued last November by the Authority under the control of former Judge Tonio Mizzi and Education Minister Clifton Grima, calls for the leasing of some 800 square metres of office space for the Authority for the next five years.

However, the call, estimated to cost taxpayers some €800,000, surprisingly specified that the offices need to be located in a particular area of the island “within one kilometre from Maria Assunta’s College in Hamrun”.

This clause restricted the tender to only a few bids, which happened to have unutilised property or office space in that particular area.

The tender did not explain why AIMS restricted the offer to such a small area. The Authority, which has a regulatory function, can operate from anywhere across the country and is currently based in offices in Gudja.

Also, AIMS has no association or presence in Hamrun or Maria Assunta College.

Additionally, AIMS specified in the tender that it needed a minimum of 800 square metres of space, much more than required for an organisation with less than 20 employees. According to ongoing market trends, such a space would typically take around a hundred workers.

The tender’s specifications seem to indicate that it was written with a specific office block in mind, sources confirmed.

Research by The Shift shows that the tender, which closed in January, hasn’t been awarded yet. Only two bids were submitted, one by AME Health and Safety Services for almost €500,000 and the other by Gerada Quality Construction Ltd for €870,000.

Although the price was the only determining factor, AIMS, through the Contracts Department, recommended Gerada Quality Construction for selection even though the company submitted a much higher offer.

Gordon Gerada owns the company, which is based in Sliema, the district in which Education Minister Clifton Grima contests.

Incidentally, the company has a block of offices available in Santa Venera, which is almost on the doorstep of Maria Assunta College.

The office block was earmarked for another government agency a few months ago, but the proposal was finally turned down.

Set up a few years ago, AIMS has been operating from one crisis to the next, with CEOs hired and fired by the board, managed by Chairman Antonio Mizzi.

The regulator for sports integrity has failed to achieve any of its goals, and internal squabbling, resignations, and mismanagement have become the norm.