Order to publish CEO’s, Neville Gafà’s contracts defied

The Foundation for Medical Services, which falls under the direct responsibility of Health Minister Chris Fearne, is refusing to adhere to an order by the Information and Data Protection Commissioner to give Times of Malta access to the contracts of employment of its CEO, Carmen Ciantar, and its Projects Director, Neville Gafà, according to the Freedom of Information Act. Instead, through its lawyer, the FMS has filed an appeal against the decision of the commissioner, arguing among other things, that both Ms Ciantar and Mr Gafà are not involved in politics. In her written submissions to the Appeals Tribunal, FMS lawyer Katrina Borg Cardona – herself a political appointee on various government entities – argued that it was not true that public interest should prevail in this circumstance as “the commissioner did not bring a valid proof on what is the public interest of the employment contract of private persons who are not in the public or political arena”.  Times of Malta had asked FMS – a public entity – under the Freedom of Information Act to provide the employment contracts of Ms Ciantar and Mr Gafà. After a refusal by the FMS, the Information and Data Protection...