Cabinet guidelines on use of personal e-mail stall

Cabinet guidelines regulating the use of private or personal e-mail accounts have stalled, the Times of Malta has learnt.

This newspaper last month reported how the government was examining different communication options which would include “clear and simple guidelines”, which ministers and parliamentary secretaries would be expected to follow when conducting official business.

A spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister had said the Malta Information Technology Agency was involved in the process for developing the new communications guidelines. However, sources said the guidelines had not yet been drafted and ministers were still operating without clear instructions.

Questions on whether the guidelines had been drafted and if they had been ignored were not answered by the Office of the Prime Minister.

The need for a clear communication protocol was flagged after it emerged that Education Minister Evarist Bartolo had used his private e-mail account to discuss corruption claims last year.

Back in December, Mr Bartolo admitted he should not have used a private Hotmail account to handle claims of abuse by a senior official at the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools (FTS).

His...