Declarations of assets: Data commissioner slams prime minister on lack of transparency, accountability

Prime Minister Robert Abela’s decision to stop a 30-year tradition of publishing his Ministers’ annual declarations of assets has been slammed by the Data Protection Commissioner over its “incompatibility with the principles of transparency and accountability”.

However, the Commissioner decided that he could not force the Prime Minister to table these declarations in Parliament or make them public, as these documents are considered cabinet documents under current law and are thus exempt from Freedom of Information (FOI) rules.

Following a FOI request by The Shift, which challenged the Prime Minister’s stance on hiding these declarations, the Commissioner stated that, according to the law, it is the Prime Minister who retains sole and absolute discretion over the release of such documents.

However, the Commissioner insisted that this “system is viewed as incompatible with the principles of transparency and accountability, which are fundamental to good governance.”

Harshly criticising Robert Abela’s unilateral decision not to continue with a 30-year tradition followed by all his predecessors, the Data Protection Commissioner said that “in a democratic society grounded in the principles of transparency, accountability, and good governance, public access to such documents is of fundamental importance, particularly where they pertain to matters of integrity in public life.”

“The Commissioner emphasises that access to these documents is essential to facilitate effective public scrutiny of the assets of Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries who hold crucial responsibilities within the executive branch of the government. Such transparency is fundamental to safeguarding the integrity of democratic governance, maintaining public trust, and ensuring that elected members of Parliament are held accountable for their conduct in public office.”

In reply to the Prime Minister’s stance that he has no legal obligation to make these declarations public, the Commissioner noted that while this was true, it did not mean it was right.

“The absence of a legal requirement does not preclude the continuation of a well-established practice that has served a vital public interest for years,” the Commissioner said.

The Data Commissioner’s condemnation of Abela’s decision to conceal ministerial declarations of assets follows a similar position taken by the Standards Commissioner, who described Abela’s decision as inexplicable.

He had ordered the Prime Minister to table the 2023 declarations without further delay, but Abela ignored him.

Abela last year refused to make public the annual declarations of his Cabinet, in which they list all their assets and those of their spouses, including money held in banks and real estate acquisitions.

No real explanation was given by the Prime Minister on his new stance, except for stating that he wanted a more detailed system, which he promised to introduce “in weeks”. Months later, this has still not happened.

Abela heavily resisted the publication of the 2023 declarations despite having previously published the 2021 and 2022 declarations in full.

Since he became Prime Minister, Abela has been economical with the truth in his declarations and refused to list his wife’s assets, including any bank accounts she may have in her name.

Questions began to be raised about his declared income and lifestyle, including the acquisition of real estate, which did not align with his reported income and savings.

The Standards Commissioner had made it clear that Ministers and the Prime Minister were also bound to declare assets held by their spouses or partners.