Minister refuses to divulge names of developers receiving €4 million from Malta Enterprise

The government agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment towards Malta is refusing to divulge information regarding some €4 million given to construction industry players in direct cash grants.

Malta Enterprise, with the consent of the minister responsible, Miriam Dalli, has turned down a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by The Shift asking for a list of beneficiaries given tens of thousands each to buy construction equipment such as trucks, forklifts, excavators and diggers.

This information is classified as “secret and confidential”, according to Malta Enterprise,  interpreting a 2003 law stating that information regarding investment grants and their beneficiaries should not be divulged without the minister’s consent.

The Shift only asked for a list detailing the beneficiaries and the amount they received from public funds, not the actual contracts signed with individual contractors.

Malta Enterprise is led by Kurt Farrugia – disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s Head of Communications at the OPM.

The Shift has now filed a call for disclosure with the Data Protection Commissioner calling for an investigation into possible wrong and abusive interpretation of the law by Malta Enterprise to deny information to the public.

Millions for the developers while the industry is thriving

While the construction industry has experienced a boom in past years as the Labour government changed planning rules and opened the floodgates for massive construction projects all over the island, the government still felt the need to dish out taxpayer funds to ‘help’ a thriving yet controversial industry.

Floated in October 2020, the ‘Construction Industry Scheme’ called for companies and self-employed individuals to apply for cash grants so that they could buy modern equipment.

This financial assistance given to developers from taxpayers has been described by Minister Dalli as a way to provide incentives for the industry to become more sustainable and environment-friendly.

Four million euros were up for grabs and, as expected, it was an enormous success, so much so that the scheme had to be closed before the deadline as there were more applicants than money available.

In August, boasting about the ‘immense number of applicants’ that came forward for this scheme, Miriam Dalli announced that some €3.6 million were to be distributed among 64 beneficiaries while dozens of others were left out.

Who’s in and who’s out is not in the public interest

Asked to give details on the beneficiaries, the amount given to each and what equipment they would be buying, Malta Enterprise is now refusing to be held accountable saying the law regulating its operations obliges it not to give any details.

Yet sources described this refusal as “a textbook excuse” so applicants and the public are unable to keep tabs on who got what and how public funds were being used.

“If the government does not want to say who got what, how can we ever know why we were not given any funds,” one of the applicants who was not selected told The Shift.

“We all know the big players and how they manage to turn a non-starter project into a sudden planning permit. These are probably all on the list of Malta Enterprise,” he said.

While the Malta Enterprise Act does say that officials cannot divulge information on beneficiaries, it also states that all information can still be given at the request of the Minister or the Board.

Ironically, various constituted bodies who have been harping on the need for more government transparency and accountability sit on the Malta Enterprise board, nominated by the government. These include the Malta Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of SMEs.

So far these entities have remained silent on the continuous lack of transparency by Malta Enterprise.