The number of requests for information from the government tripled in a three-year period, many either having been rejected or still being evaluated, figures seen by this newspaper show.
The government received 175 requests for information or documentation last year under the Freedom of Information Act, a considerable increase over the 62 filed between 2013 and 2015.
Only slightly over half of the requests made last year have been partially or fully replied to, the rest either being rejected or still being processed. One of the requests was “abandoned”. Just over one in four of the requests filed in 2016 were related to planning matters and public land.
About 24 requests, the highest number for a single entity, were made to the Government Property Department. At the time the department, now known as the Lands Authority, was embroiled in an expropriation case involving businessman Mark Gaffarena.
The second highest number of requests was made to the Planning Authority, which last year was reformed in a controversial demerger that saw environmental monitoring hived off into a new watchdog.
The Education Ministry and Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar also received a rather high number of requests last year: 19 and 15, respectively.
Most of the requests this newspaper filed last year were rejected.
READ: Government says 'no' to most Times of Malta FOI requests
The Times of Malta reported in June 2016 that the government often cited commercial sensitivity and a number of exemptions listed in the law as the reason for withholding documents.
Over 15 applications filed by Times of Malta journalists were refused, and they were forced to resort to the Data Protection Commissioner, empowered by law to review such decisions.
According to the law, even if such complaints are upheld, the Prime Minister still retains the right to withhold the requested information.
The filings from this newspaper included requests for information on major deals signed by the government, such as the €360 million loan guarantee given by the government to Electrogas, the private company that built the new power station.
Other requests were for copies of reports that remain unpublished. The Freedom of Information Act was drafted in 2008 but only fully came into force in September 2012.
The Act gives the public the right to seek information that is held by State authorities and is meant to promote “added transparency and accountability in government”.