Minister Francis Fonseca Says He Does Not Interfere in Ministry Procurement Decisions

Minister Francis Fonseca says that, as a Cabinet minister, he does not interfere in the day-to-day work of finance officers or in the management of contracts under the ministries assigned to him.  Fonseca was asked today about the scrutiny now surrounding procurement practices within the Ministry of National Defence and Border Security, where an audit has been ordered into the ministry’s operations between 2019 and 2026. He says ministers set policy direction, but the administrative and financial processes are handled by the public officers responsible for those functions.

Reporter: Can you say that this is something that you do not do under your ministries? 

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs: “No, absolutely not. I’m not, as the minister with responsibility for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education that is not a practice that I certainly am involved in or engaged in. I’ve always made it very clear that my role as minister is a policy role. So I don’t get involved with the finance officer or any spending in the ministry or contracts with the ministry. That is not my role at all. So I’m not involved in that process at all.”

Minister Fonseca also spoke about the developments now confronting Cabinet, after returning to work yesterday after two months’ medical leave. He says he is still being brought up to date on the matter but stressed that Cabinet must have all the facts before taking any serious decisions.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs: “I don’t think it’s a crisis. Obviously it’s a serious matter and I think it is being treated with a sense of, you know, obviously with a great sense of gravity. I think the Prime Minister is doing the right thing. He has ensured that the ministers who are responsible for those ministries are on leave while a comprehensive audit is being done of those ministries and whatever is the outcome of those audits will determine what future actions have to be taken. So I think that’s the right approach. Let’s get the information, let’s get all of the data and then decisions can be made. So I don’t think it’s a crisis, I think it’s being handled responsibly and then we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Just yesterday, the Prime Minister announced the proposal of a Central Procurement Unit to prevent a repeat of the Mira practice of splitting invoices, and a  more transparent contract process.  He explained that the unit would centralize the process through a specialized body, rather than leaving ministries and departments to independently manage major purchases and contracts.