Former MITA chairman working gratis as policy advisor to Austin Gatt

Infrastructure and transport minister Austin Gatt has published the letter of appointment for Claudio Grech, his former head of secretariat, as his policy advisor on ICT strategy, which will be free of any remuneration.

Grech resigned as chairman of the Malta IT Agency (MITA) five months ago but since then it transpired he had been retained as advisor to Gatt on information technology policies and e-government strategy.

Grech had said MITA's chairmanship conflicted with his private consultancy work, when announcing his resignation. Cabinet secretary Godwin Grima was appointed chairman in his stead.

In his letter to Grech, Gatt said that as policy advisor on ICT policy he would ensure the MITA is following meeting its strategic goals, and developing and implementing policies to attain its strategic direction.

"Whilst you will have no role in organisational maters, you shall specifically target that major e-initiatives such as e-forms, e-ID, e-Health and e-Education are implemented in line with the Ministry's strategic direction. You will not receive any remuneration for this role."

Referring to criticism from Labour over the appointment, Claudio Grech said in a statement that he was "perplexed" that his choice to provide his service to the government without remuneration had generated "so much resentment and bitterness" from the Opposition.

"Without in any way hinting that I am in any shape or form indispensable or perfect, over the last 14 years, I have always strived to contribute towards the growth of the local ICT community in terms of size, quality ad international reputation. I did this to the best of my abilities and by putting in as much passion, energy and commitment as I could."

Grech said Labour "should be glad" about the results achieved in this sector.

"Then again, the importance and policy-focus they give to ICT has always been minimal and at any rate secondary to personal attacks," Grech said.

In a statement, Grech also hit out at claims by Opposition leader Joseph Muscat that he retained access to government information systems. Grech referred to a report by the Data Protection Commissioner, over a complaint he made against Labour MP Michael Farrugia, which found that as MITA chairman he did not have access to sensitive private data.

"The report concluded that not only were the allegations unproven but also that they were baseless," Grech said.

Grech also denied Muscat's claims that he had his own government-paid vehicle or a paid chauffeur. "This is not true since I use my personal vehicle... on the 6 April 2002, the person he presumable refers to as my 'full-time chauffeur' was granted a period of 12 months' unpaid leave following the utilisation of his own annual vacation leave," Grech said.