Audit every state asset, open every file

For the second year in a row, the Prime Minister has decided that his ministers' private assets are a state secret. He’s using the shield of “cabinet secrecy” to block requests for the 2023 asset declarations, completely ignoring orders from both the Data and Standards Commissioners to release them. Local newsrooms that asked for the documents were stonewalled or flatly refused. 

Why the panic? When past declarations were eventually dragged into the light, journalists at Times of Malta and The Shift News exposed them as a sham. There were copy-and-paste mistakes, missing properties and bank accounts, and underdeclared earnings. These aren’t clerical errors; they are giant red flags that point to politicians getting mysteriously wealthy while in office.

Let’s be clear: this type of rot isn’t confined to one party. Both PL and PN have benefited from this murky system for years, allowing potential conflicts of interest and personal enrichment to flourish in the dark.

Momentum is here to turn on the lights. We believe the most powerful anti-corruption tool is also the cheapest: radical transparency. The people of Malta deserve a clear, real-time view of where their money goes and who is profiting from it.

Journalists shouldn’t have to beg for scraps of information. To fix this, we are proposing a legislative package that will flip the default setting from secrecy to disclosure.

Our plan is built on three pillars.

1. Real audits, with real consequences

Let's be honest: the current "honour system" for declaring assets is a joke. Our proposed Public Integrity Act would mandate that the National Audit Office professionally audit every elected official’s asset statement within 90 days of taking office, and every year after.

The Act would give the Auditor General the power to obtain bank statements, property records, and tax data to verify everything. If an official lies or hides something, they won't just get a slap on the wrist - they will face criminal prosecution.

2. Open the government’s books

The excuse of “commercial confidentiality” has become a smokescreen to hide how billions of your euros are spent. Our proposed Public Spending Ledger Bill would make that impossible. It mandates a live, open-data ledger showing every single euro spent by the government. Every contract, every invoice, every final payment will be published automatically in a searchable format. We will create a public contract library, ensuring every single side-letter and backroom deal is there for all to see. Secrecy clauses in state contracts will be outlawed.

3. An unbreakable right to information.

The Freedom of Information Act has been twisted into a weapon by ministries to create endless delays and deny legitimate requests. We will replace it with the Open Malta Act. Information will be published by default, not just released on request. The ministerial veto, which lets the government muzzle its own watchdogs, will be gone. The deadline for requests will be enforced to 25 working days, and any official who ignores a legally binding order to release information will pay daily fines from their own pocket.

This isn’t just a wish list. It is a three-point plan to ensure a comprehensive audit of MPs on day one, introduce a transparency-by-default system into public procurement and render freedom of information provisions absolute, without any vetoes.

So, we have a simple question for every MP and party candidate: will you open your books to the people who pay your salaries?

Mark Camilleri Gambin is a tech entrepreneur and general secretary of Momentum.