Two board members of the Broadcasting Authority have publicly contradicted statements made by chairwoman Tanya Borg Cardona last week that she disclosed her ‘government job’ to the board.
Christopher Scicluna, a sitting board member, said the first time he learned about Ms Borg Cardona’s engagement with the government to give protocol services was through the Times of Malta.
“I have no recollection, knowledge or record of a disclosure to the board, and any claims to the contrary will be factually incorrect,” Mr Scicluna said when asked for his reaction.
Peter Fenech, another board member, also said that he was unaware of Ms Borg Cardona’s government engagement.
“I confirm that I was not informed or ever made aware of the chairwoman’s employment as a person of trust with the government,” Dr Fenech said.
The other board members, former l-Orizzont editor Frans Ghirxi and Dr Alessando Lia, had not replied by the time of writing when asked to confirm whether they were informed by Ms Borg Cardona about her engagement with the government.
Despite their silence, this newspaper is reliably informed there is no record in the minutes of the meetings of the Broadcasting Authority that Ms Borg Cardona had observed the code of ethics.
Last week, this newspaper confirmed that apart from serving as an impartial chair of the Broadcasting Authority – a constitutional body – Ms Borg Cardona was also employed as a person of trust with the office of Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech to provide services to the EU Presidency Unit.
I was not ever made aware of the chair’s employment as a person of trust
According to the code of ethics, applicable to all Broadcasting Authority members, Ms Borg Cardona was duty bound to inform the board in writing about her ‘second’ job with the government.
Asked to state whether she had disclosed her government job to the other board members, Ms Borg Cardona said she had done so in February 2016.
However, when asked to provide this newspaper with board minutes of the meeting in which she had made her disclosure and to provide a copy of her written declaration according to the code, Ms Borg Cardona failed to provide such evidence.
The embattled chairwoman has so far resisted calls to resign, including from BA employees, the UĦM, the Nationalist Party and Alternattiva Demokratika.
All BA employees are currently engaged in an industrial action after accusing her of insults and bullying. The UĦM has also accused the chairwoman of abusing taxpayers by receiving a €500-a-month allowance to use her private car on official business. According to the UĦM, she is not entitled to such a high allowance.
Ms Borg Cardona has denied any abuse of public funds and said that she was given the allowance according to a government circular. Ms Borg Cardona did not produce the circular when asked.
Completely unknown in the broadcasting and media field, Ms Borg Cardona was appointed by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to head the authority in January 2016.
Despite a petition from employees calling for Dr Muscat’s intervention in the affair, Ms Borg Cardona said she had had no communication with the Prime Minister.
According to the Constitution, it is only the Prime Minister who has the power to recommend Ms Borg Cardona’s removal.