The Malta Communications Authority, which is responsible for the regulation of the island’s telecoms industry, has been left without a chairman and board of governors since April.

Two other State entities have also been left without a board for months. And Times of Malta reported on Monday that another government entity, the Malta Gaming Authority, has been operating without a board for months, despite regulating companies responsible for 10 per cent of the island’s economy.

Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Schembri – no reply.

Both the law and standards of good governance require that government entities, for which Parliamentary Secretary at the OPM Silvio Schembri is responsible, are led by a properly constituted board. Times of Malta is informed that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was informed about this situation several weeks ago.

The communications authority was formerly chaired by veteran lawyer Edward Woods.

The MCA’s board members were informed that their appointment had expired but a new board has yet to be constituted.

An OPM spokesman on Monday said “announcements will be made in the coming days”.

In the meantime, the MCA is being run by a new CEO, Jesmond Bugeja, a former official of Identity Malta.

PM informed about the situation several weeks ago

He was appointed by the OPM without any call for applications.

Sources said relations between the outgoing board of directors and the parliamentary secretary   had turned sour – a similar situation to the MGA.

“The outgoing MCA board could not tolerate a situation where it was being given instructions directly by the office of the parliamentary secretary,” a source said.

Two other entities without a board

The situation at the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) has been described as identical. The council, which manages millions in taxpayer and EU funds, has been without a board of governors since the 2017 election.

The executive chairman, former MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who contested the last election on the Labour ticket, has been kept in place. But no board has been formed since, giving him free rein over the administration of the council and its funds.

When Times of Malta reported on the situation at MCST in July 2018, the OPM had said it would be nominating a board within days. However, more than a year later, the council remains without a board.

A similar situation has evolved at Finance Malta, responsible for marketing of Malta’s thriving financial industry overseas: it has had no board of directors for several months.

However, a spokesman said the government had recently submitted its nominations for the board.

Mr Schembri on Monday was asked to explain why the government had allowed this general lack of governance to develop but his spokesman did not reply.