Staff members at the Broadcasting Authority are up in arms against their chairwoman and have asked for the Prime Minister’s direct intervention, the Times of Malta is informed.
Stopping short from asking for her outright sacking, the majority of employees at the Broadcasting Authority, about 30 in all, told Joseph Muscat that the chairwoman was not fit for the job and pushed the regulator backwards.
“Since the appointment of the current chairwoman, Tanya Borg Cardona, the authority has taken a turn downwards,” they wrote in a signed letter dated February 3.
“She has absolutely no knowledge of broadcasting and, after 13 months in office, has not contributed in any way to safeguard and promote broadcasting regulation,” they wrote.
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In their no-holds-barred hard-hitting letter, the employees told the Prime Minister that the chairwoman, appointed on Dr Muscat’s own recommendation, “has a complete disregard of the Constitution, laws and regulations”.
Pointing towards her “unsavoury character”, they accused her of “intimidation, bullying and victimisation towards staff members, management included”.
With just a year to go until the general election – the hottest period for the broadcasting regulator – sources close to the broadcasting watchdog said Ms Borg Cardona’s position had now become untenable.
“It is unprecedented that staff members at the BA have had to resort to the Prime Minister, begging him to intervene as they cannot take the chair any longer,” the sources said.
“The lack of knowledge of the person chosen by the Prime Minister was already well known among those in the media but the situation has now become ridiculous,” they added.
Efforts to get Ms Borg Cardona’s comments yesterday proved futile as she is currently indisposed.
On the other hand, questions sent to the Prime Minister for his reaction remained unanswered at the time of writing.
The sources told this newspaper the straw that broke the camel’s back was the decision taken on Ms Borg Cardona’s own initiative to move the offices of the constitutionally appointed body from its purpose-built offices in Ħamrun – a building that includes a TV studio – to Valletta.
According to the letter to Dr Muscat, the offices in Valletta, which Ms Borg Cardona is insisting on leasing, are “small, restricted and not adequate for the requirements of the authority.”
The staff appealed to Dr Muscat to “take this matter into your own hands and make the necessary decisions in order to restore the authority’s functionality and effectiveness”.
The nomination of Ms Borg Cardona, an etiquette coach, had taken many by surprise. Although the Opposition did not formally object, it had signalled its reservations due to the Ms Borg Cardona’s lack of experience in the field.
The four members of the broadcasting regulators’ board are nominated by the Labour and Nationalist parties.
ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com