Commissioner calls on Tenor to publish contracts for public funds received

Tenor Joseph Calleja must present all contracts related to his agreement with the government regarding his concerts, which are financed with state taxpayers’ money, the Information Commissioner decided.

The Shift submitted a Freedom of Information request in July 2023. The authority responded seven months later, violating rules requiring a response to be received within 20 days. The Commissioner criticised the authority for its late response.

In its response seven months later, the authority presented “responses from the team of tenor Joseph Calleja” and rejected the application.

Calleja’s management team in Malta argued that the information was “strictly confidential” and that “disclosure of payment structures and amounts could distort the market perception of Calleja’s value.”

The Shift argued that although Calleja’s talent was valued, the public authority had not complied with the law. This newsroom requested information about the allocation of public funds without any transparency or competition.

This newsroom also argued that the contracts may also contain obligations on the part of the artist that require careful scrutiny.

Furthermore, the commercial and business implications of Calleja’s management are limited to any other artist or person willing to enter into such arrangements with a government agency.

There is no excuse for a public authority not being closely monitored and not being transparent, especially when it comes to an international artist who can easily organize concerts without the help of the public, argued The Shift.

The Commissioner’s Office conducted an on-site inspection on June 18 after criticising the agency for taking seven months to respond to the request.

Commissioner Ian Deguara rejected arguments that the information should not be released, arguing that artists who signed contracts with a public authority using taxpayers’ money should expect scrutiny.

The Malta Tourism Authority has always refused to provide information about the subsidies he receives for each concert.

“The Commissioner stresses that anyone who concludes a contract with a public authority must expect that the information may be subject to a request for information and may potentially be made available to the public,” Deguara said in his decision.

He said allegations that a person’s reputation could be damaged were not enough. There had to be an assessment of the harm that would or could be caused to the person by disclosing the information sought.

“The Commissioner considers that the harm against which the Authority seeks to protect should be sufficiently specific and concrete and not merely speculative or improbable.”

The Commissioner concluded that it was not enough for the authority to simply claim that it was protected from disclosure by a statutory provision, but that it had to clearly explain how disclosure of the information would harm the legitimate aim.

“In a functioning democratic society, the public should have the right to receive information on how public funds are used by the authorities. This obliges the authorities to be transparent and accountable,” the Commissioner said.

Deguara ruled that all information must be submitted within 20 working days. Calleja can still appeal the decision.

Since the Labour Party came to power, Calleja has received hundreds of thousands of euros (a conservative estimate) for his concerts.

The use of taxpayers’ money for the tenor’s concerts was initially justified by the fact that admission was free. However, “the audience” had to stand at the back while the organizers charged high fees for seats.

This public access has now been revoked and the organizers are charging exorbitant prices despite state funding.