Momentum would publish information about every euro spent by government

Momentum on Monday proposed a public spending ledger that would be available online, detailing tenders, invoices and final payments made by the government.

It is among three further proposals by the party, which believes "Maltese citizens have a right to know exactly where their money goes".

The three proposals are aimed at making public spending and political behaviour transparent by default rather than by request:

A real-time public spending ledger: every euro spent by the government will be published online automatically. This would include tenders, invoices, and final payments. Citizens will not need to file a request or wait for an annual report. The data will be publicly available in machine-readable format, updated in real time. Commercial confidentiality will never be invoked to block access to information about how public money is spent.

A searchable contract database: set up a searchable repository of every government contract, memorandum, side letter, and variation order signed by the government. Any citizen, journalist, or researcher will be able to find out what deals are being made in their name and whether the terms have changed since they were first signed.

A transparency watch website: create a unified online platform updated in real time where every politician’s declared assets, audit findings, and relevant appointments can be found in one place, and accessible to anyone.

“In Malta, asking where public money goes is treated as an inconvenience rather than a right,” said Alastair Farrugia, Momentum’s candidate in fourth and fifth districts. 

“Both parties have built a system that works best when citizens cannot see it clearly. We want to change the default from secrecy to openness because it is the only way to hold power properly to account, and build public institutions trusted by our citizens.”