The GGCA Executive committee says it is concerned regarding Minister Isola’s response to Question No 64/2021 in Parliament yesterday, which required him to detail costs relating to the E-Government platform.

A statement from the GGCA follows below:

Given the dispute declared in 2018 by the GGCA against Minister Isola in his capacity as Minister for Digital Services in relation to Information Technology & Logistics Department (“IT&LD ”), the GGCA was bemused at Minister Isola’s conflation of eServices expenses with unrelated longstanding IT&LD expenses. Minister Isola is well aware of the expenses that relate to IT&LD and the expenses that relate to the Ministry for Digital and Financial Services. Indeed, Minister Isola himself appointed a Chief Officer for eServices who is and has been the controlling officer for all expenditure incurred relating to the E-Government platform.

The GGCA would like to highlight that much of the E-Government project was undertaken without, and often against, IT&LD professional advice and the E-Government contracts were not managed by IT&LD.

If there has been little value for money achieved in relation to the E Government project, Minister Isola should be held accountable for this, and no blame should be misdirected towards the IT&LD workforce. This would only serve to add insult to injury, as this sector of the GGCA membership was depleted, ignored and undervalued and the very structure of their department was placed at risk before they took industrial action as a last resort in 2019.