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With reference to the list of individuals carried in MaltaToday of Sunday, 15 August, 2004 under the heading ‘‘State Secret’ revealed on the web by google.com.mt,’ I would like to highlight a number of inaccuracies and misconceptions that appear in the write-up accompanying the said list:
The list reproduced in the article was forwarded by the Permanent Representation of Malta to the EU to the European Commission on 1 May 2004. Each Permanent Representation forwards this information to the Commission in order to ensure that communication on the different policy areas between the EU and its Institutions and the Permanent Representation is channelled directly to the appropriate officer. This list is updated on a quarterly basis.
The list is largely correct and most of the individuals listed are currently occupying the posts indicated. However, a few of the attaches (Environment, Competition, Agriculture, Legal Cooperation and Education, Youth and Culture) appearing in the list did not actually take up the post in Brussels.
Although the position as at 1 May 2004 was that they had been formally selected for the post, and as such were included in the list forwarded to the Commission, the individuals concerned subsequently decided not to take up the post since they disagreed with certain terms and conditions contained in the contract of service offered to them at the time.
A second call for applications for the post of Technical Attaches was consequently published in the Malta Government Gazette and, in addition to other policy areas not previously advertised, also included the five policy areas indicated above.
The individuals selected for the post in the first call for applications were invited to re-apply and, in many cases, actually did so.
This call is now being processed in full conformity with the standing procedures of the Public Service Commission. This process is in its final stages and the selected officers are expected to assume their posts in Brussels in September.
The list also includes the name of Mark Sammut, who appears as the officer responsible for Information and Communication Technologies. The position as at 1 May 2004 was that this individual was the officer designated by MITTS Ltd to manage the IT projects sited at the Permanent Representation. This is the norm with all other Maltese embassies and missions overseas. As such, his name appears on the list as being the contact person within the Permanent Representation for all IT-related issues. However, given the size and operational requirements of the Permanent Representation, which due to its particular function is on a significantly larger scale than other embassies or missions, the option of appointing a full-time permanent officer responsible for Information and Communication Technology is being assessed on the basis that this may provide a more cost-effective solution than the current system of sending an individual to Brussels on a ‘need-to’ basis. A selection process to identify a suitable officer has in fact been set in motion, however a decision on whether or not to create the post on a full-time basis is on hold pending a final assessment on the cost-effectiveness of this option.
Ann Marie Scibberras, listed as Environment Attache, is not, and has never been, married to Angelito Scibberras, Assistant Secretary General of the Nationalist Party.
Nicolette Camilleri, the Attache responsible for Transport, Telecommunications and Energy, was selected in October 2003 following a formal selection process that conformed in every detail to the Public Service’s requirements for such a process. This call for applications was restricted to public officers and employees within the Public Sector. Ms Camilleri was the candidate who best met the selection criteria for this post in terms of her academic background and relevant experience.
Finally, I wish to emphasise that the names of staff working at the Permanent Representation are not a ‘State Secret’ as implied in your headline. The Government has no difficulties with forwarding their names to external entities for official and work-related purposes, as is clearly the case with the list in question. The officers serving at the Permanent Representation are all there to perform official duties in the national interest, and as such have a right to be protected against having their names bandied about.
Emanuel Abela
Director of Information
Editorial note:
We are pleased to note that our news story was confirmed by the DOI. The headline ‘State secret’ was meant to be ironical.
- The staff list was published because it appeared on an official EU website.
- The DOI and the permanent representative procrastinated for over three weeks to provide information related to these postings
- The method used in selecting staff is of public interest and the whole episode could have been diffused if the Maltese authorities were more forthcoming in their answers
- On Monday 16 August MaltaToday issued an immediate press release apologising unreservedly for confusing the name of the wife of Mr Angelito Scibberras with that of another ‘listed’ employee at the Malta mission.
- The unfortunate error does not in any way change our endeavour to report on the Brussels house saga . |
