400 civil servants trained for Freedom of Information law
Training process to be completed by mid-2012, as full implementation of freedom of information still pending.
28 February 2012, 12:00am
Matthew Vella
Matthew Vella
1 min read
The training of 400 freedom of information officers who work in the civil service has been ongoing since February 2010, justice minister Chris Said has told parliament.
It's been two years since the Freedom of Information Act was passed by the Maltese parliament, but fundamental clauses that put the law into effect have not yet been published by legal notice.
Replying to the parliamentary question by Labour MP Leo Brincat, Said said the training will be completed towards the middle of the year, and that the new FOI officers - who are already civil service employees - are being trained in the provisions of the law.
A code of practice is also being formulated, and other training is being provided to senior officials in the civil service so that the are fully cognisant of what freedom of information laws entail. The law is now part of the public management diploma at the government's Centre for Development, Research and Training.
The cost of the FOI training was tagged at over €49,000.
Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...
