Broadcasting Authority chair pockets €6,000 allowance to use her car

The Broadcasting Authority’s chairperson Tanya Borg Cardona, who has been facing calls for her resignation after BA employees called in their union, receives a €6,000 car allowance each year to keep using her personal car for official purposes – instead of making use of the official authority cars.

The authority confirmed that Borg Cardona is paid €6,000 annually “representing an all inclusive allowance and on condition that the personal car is used for all official duties by Chair.”

However, Borg Cardona pays for other expenses such as fuel, licence fees, insurance and maintenance of her Jaguar SUV.

Since Borg Cardona took over as chairperson in early 2016, the Constitutionally-appointed authority has acquired a new vehicle – a Toyota Avensis – but the chairperson makes use of her personal vehicle for official business despite having two company cars, a Renault Megane and the new Toyota, at her disposal.

Asked why Borg Cardona doesn’t make use of the authority’s two vehicles, a BA spokesperson said “one vehicle is an office car presently used by the CEO. The other vehicle for official use by management and staff.”

The spokesperson also said that the leasing agreement was discussed at board level.

The agreement is similar to the one which sees Prime Minister Joseph Muscat receive €7,000 to keep using his Alfa Romeo instead of making use of an official car, as his predecessors did.

In recent weeks, the embattled Borg Cardona has come under pressure from the authority’s employees who are calling for her resignation. On Wednesday employees started unprecedented industrial action following claims of abuse and bullying by Borg Cardona.

On Friday, represented by Union Haddiema Maghqudin (UHM), the employees attended a mediation meeting but an impasse was reached after the authority’s lawyer Ian Refalo proposed that the chairwoman’s role will be limited to a non-executive one.

But UHM pointed out that the law already stipulates that the BA chairperson is a non-executive role, insisting that they had no guarantee that the alleged bullying would stop.

Following the meeting, a UHM spokesperson confirmed that the situation remained unchanged and industrial action would continue and possibly escalate.

Workers have also written a letter to the Prime Minister demanding that the removal of the chairperson he appointed last year. 

While pointing out that Borg Cardona is unsuitable to chair the authority because she has no competence in the field, employees highlighted a number of instances in which they say they were bullied and insulted by the chair.

An employee recounted an incident in which Borg Cardona threw the personal belongings of one employee into a bin and sent an e-mail to all staff boasting about what she had done, warning them that they would get the same treatment if they did not follow her orders.

In a statement published in the wake of these accusations, Borg Cardona denied bullying claims and abuse of public funds and blamed the standoff on a lack of communication.

“The allegations regarding bullying are not true and are the result of misunderstandings or lack of communication among individuals in the authority,” she said.

“In any event the Authority rejects in the most categorical way any allegations of irregularities and reserves its position in this regard,”she said.

Last year, the BA spent nearly €3,500 to cover the expenses of Borg Cardona’s trip to Stockholm for the Eurovision Song Contest, the first time a chair of the authority has travelled to the contest.