Claudio Grech, chairman of Malta’s IT agency, has resigned saying he was finding it increasingly difficult to juggle his work with that of his private consultancy business.

Unwarranted smear campaign aimed at tarnishing the agency’s and my reputation of integrity

He lamented that he was the target of “an unwarranted smear campaign aimed at tarnishing the agency’s and my reputation of integrity”.

He was referring to claims by the Opposition that his position at the helm of Mita and his political role inside the Nationalist Party were untenable.

His resignation letter was dated November 26, the day after the Data Protection Commissioner cleared him of having access to people’s personal data, a claim made by Labour Party spokesman Michael Farrugia.

Mr Grech has always denied mixing his duties as chairman/director of Mita with other activities he was involved in or having access to information from all government systems, saying this was restricted to those who had a technical need for such information.

Mr Grech said he had been pondering resigning for some time but had been waiting for the outcome of this investigation. He will cease to lead the Malta Information Technology Agency on December 19.

“I feel that the truth is known and the agency has emerged stronger than ever. Hence, I felt this is the right time to move on,” he said.

The Data Protection Commissioner said Mr Grech had no access to sensitive personal data held by national IT agency.

IT Minister Austin Gatt, to whom the letter was addressed, only replied yesterday, accepting his resignation with deep regret. In his resignation letter, Mr Grech, who previously worked in Dr Gatt’s private secretariat and later served as chief executive of SmartCity Malta, said he was “finding it increasingly difficult to balance the time required to lead the agency and that necessary to effectively manage the operations of my private business”.

A couple of years back, Mr Grech set up his own change-management company, providing mainly management consultancy services.

Mr Grech thanked Dr Gatt for giving him various leadership positions, including in his ministries.

“It was indeed a privilege to be part of the political driving force that has developed and nurtured Malta’s information society and transformed its traditional industries into a thriving knowledge-based economy.”

In his reply, Dr Gatt said “the government and the country owe you a debt of gratitude for your service over the past 14 years.

“You have been a key player and an inspiring leader in the government’s digital programme and Malta will continue to benefit from your achievements for many years to come,” he wrote.

When contacted, Mr Grech replied with an “absolutely not” when asked whether he had resigned because of the controversy surrounding the €280,000 facade of the new Mita building in Sta Venera, which breached planning laws, or whether his resignation was in any way connected to Dr Gatt’s intention not to contest the next general election.

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