Matthew Vella reports:
A new government agency that will centralise key identity databases was set up without the knowledge of departmental director-generals or even the Information and Data Protection Commissioner, MaltaToday has confirmed.
‘Identity Malta’ will be run by its executive chairman Joe Vella Bonnici, an economist and Labour candidate in the last general elections, as a separate government agency that will centralise all passport records, national identity records, the extensive public and land registries, and other civil registries.
[…]
There is no mention of any data protection safeguards to limit its actions, and the legal notice states that its operations will be carried out “in accordance with an agency agreement that shall be agreed between the permanent secretary and the agency.”
Government agencies established under the Public Administration Act have a separate legal personality and can enter into contracts, acquire property and recruit its own personnel.
Read more on Malta Today.
What could possibly go wrong, right?