MITA Annual Report 2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS Mission Statement

Executive Chairmanâ€™s Statement

Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Executive Chairmanâ€™s Office

Strategy and Business Department

eGovernment and Corporate Serviced Department

Programme Management Department

Infrastructure Services Department

Service Management Department

Information Security and Governance Department

Finance & Contracts Department

Facilities Management Department

MITA Cares

Financial Statements

01 MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Malta Information Technology Agency is:

We will formulate and implement digital policies, infrastructures and solutions to assist Government to further improve socio-economic prosperity.

MITA will enhance its services to help implement the Government agenda. Through policy direction and the adoption of new technologies the Agency will proliferate and attain a more connected digital Government. The Agency will adopt a dynamic approach within its business and technical functions, and co-ordinate work with stakeholders to assist Government in its mandate of improving the social and economic wellbeing of society.

02 EXECUTIVE CHAIRMANâ€™S STATEMENT

MITA Annual Report 2018

Progress in technology is a continuum that is constantly redefining the business and our daily lives. Technology innovation is reshaping society, including the public sector. Government has taken an agile governance approach to enact legislations and update policies to embrace emerging technologies such as blockchain, IoT and AI. MITAâ€™s strategy for Government information systems is to make use and maximise the benefits of current and emerging digital technologies. In this journey, MITA is being a conductor of change, taking a leading role to support the public sector to harness new technologies to facilitate service delivery to the citizens and the business. This will sustain Government to retain a high competitive economy with a strong ICT core. We aim to continuously repeat our success in e-Government services amongst our peer

Tony Sultana Executive Chairman

European countries and promote public service solutions that showcase the use of latest technologies.

increasing computing needs of the public sector digital evolution.

2018 saw an unprecedented investment in technology, funded through a mix of local

The path for the modernisation of the public

and EU funds. We are first in the region to

sector ICT landscape has thus been set. We

implement an enterprise hybrid cloud solution,

are at par investing in our employees to reap

a core attribute for digital transformation,

the necessary skills to equip teams on the

specifically to suit the demand of modern

path to cloud agility. We continue to believe

government. Through the mix of on-premise

in our people, their skills and competences,

public and private cloud infrastructure

who are our greatest assets to re-architect

environments, MITA will be able to cater for

and implement solution that leverage

diverse hosting needs, with back-up and

technology effectively to succeed in this

recovery infrastructure to sustain the ever

modernisation agenda.

03 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MITA Annual Report 2018

With pride we yearly celebrate our success stories. 2018 marks another year of achievements that were attained to our great satisfaction. During this period the Agency established the hybrid cloud infrastructure solution within our TIER III certified data centre. The solution offers a mix of on-premise public and private cloud environments to suit the computing needs of the public service for the modernisation of solution. In addition to our ongoing ICT service provisioning to Government, we embarked on the path to re-engineer legacy system to take full advantage of modern architectures and platforms. This is profoundly changing our practices and skill mix requirements. We are therefore committed to maintain our

Joseph Noel Agius, Dr. Aron Mifsud Bonnici (Board Secretary), Ing. Saviour Baldacchino, Dr Helen Borg Muscat, Tony Sultana (Executive Chairman), Anthony Borg

positive ethos of continuous learning. This is an opportunity of personal growth for our employees, through a mix of training, hands

acceleration programme, and retained our

on experiences and sharing of knowhow.

yearly commitment to offer summer work

We are committed to sharing our knowledge

opportunities for ICT students.

with the academia. We signed agreements with local tertiary educational institutions,

Our investment in technology, which this year

as we strongly believe in the value of

amounted to twenty-four million Euro is a strong

sharing our insight and providing hands on

demonstration of our strategic commitment

opportunities for students. We have invested

towards the modernisation of Government

in the setup of an Emerging Technologies

services. We aim to achieve this through our

Lab, set up a scholarship fund for Blockchain

commitment to continue to excel in the design

and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs)

and delivery of public sector ICT programs

studies, launched the 4th call for the YouStartIT

and services.

04 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

MITA Annual Report 2018

Ivan Alessandro, Efrem Borg, Jesmond Mizzi, Ian Bonello, Tony Sultana, Priscilla Bugeja, Pierre Vella, Emanuel Darmanin, Robert Galea, Wayne Valentine, Jonathan Cassar

2018 provided a myriad of opportunities

Our drive to harness new technologies and

bringing about challenging projects offering

maximise the use of data is focused to further

countless opportunities for learning and

promote the digital-first approach, making it the

growth. At top agenda, MITA positioned itsâ€™

preferred choice for the consumption of Public

commitment to support Governmentâ€™s drive for

Services. We now aim to prioritise our effort

modernisation and exploit the use of emerging

to support Government priority to implement

technologies. This drive enshrined a positive

the once-only principle for the delivery of

outlook amongst employees, instilling a mind-

Public Services.

set for learning new skills and competencies, and willingness to be participative in this digital

Moreover, we collaborated with Government

innovation path.

to grow and sustain emerging ICT related economic sector. We acted through a

Investment has been on a tripartite focus,

participative approach aimed to nourish our

primarily on implementing an enterprise hybrid

skill through collaboration with startups and top

cloud solution, deliver modern devices and

tech players in emerging technologies, such as

modern desktop solutions, and re-architect

Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence.

solutions and services as key enablers for digital transformation in the public sector.

We are proud to be players in this journey to

We are committed to further engage with

transform the Public Sector for digital future.

suppliers to complement our resources and

MITA continues to offer a place where to grow,

deliver secure and robust solutions exploiting

learn, and fulfil a career in ICT to the utmost, in

modern technologies.

an environment that has employeesâ€™ wellbeing central to its core. 10

05 EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN’S OFFICE Aligning the Agency’s core competence to deliver our strategic intent

MITA Annual Report 2018

“We provide our people with the tools and opportunities to further develop their professional and technical skills whilst maximising their potential. Our human resources practices help promote flexibility, wellbeing and a culture of agility and adaptability to new technologies.” Isabelle Bonnici Executive HR Office

“We combine creative ideas to communicate the corporate wide engagements and achievements of our employees, with the aim to promote the use of technology, showcase our solutions, and extend our corporate reputation and visibility.” Clive Farrugia Acting Manager Marketing & Communications

Achievements Day There is a time to work and another to

The Executive Chairman’s speech together with

celebrate and recognise our strong, talented

the Department Heads’ presentations reflected

and motivated workforce!

the Agency’s thrusts towards embracing new organisational responsibilities, unchartered

The annual MITA Achievements Day has

technologies, broader citizen centric initiatives

become a cornerstone in the recognition of our

and value adding capabilities.

employees, an opportunity to showcase our achievements and provide corporate direction

Inspired by the fact that the Agency’s workforce

for the forthcoming years.

is made up of individuals with different skills, background and aspirations, the Agency

It is with all this in mind that the theme of the

presented the 2018 Achievement’s Day Theme

Achievements’ Day organised on the 7th

as ‘Inkattru l- ħiliet tagħna’. This theme’s focus

December 2017 was towards ‘Shaping our Future’.

was towards encouraging growth of talent and

During this event the MITA Strategy was launched,

skills in the forthcoming years.

a launch that earmarked the start of three very engaging and demanding years: 2018 - 2020.

Centrally coordinated by the Marketing and Communications and Human Resources functions, all departments worked towards common goals, that culminated in the December 2018 event.

Strategy 2018-2020 One year after the launch of the MITA 20182020 Strategy the Agency visually portrayed the delivery of several initiatives falling under this strategy. Using our native language, representatives from all departments presented bold statements for the forthcoming years aimed towards further attaining this Strategy.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Corporate & Social Team Building The Agency believes in creating comradeship and collaboration to attain its goals and have an innovative and energetic workforce. During 2018, the Agency has encouraged, not one but two team building trusts. The first one, encouraged employees to organise their own event and bring together, during their free time, colleagues who enjoy similar interests or hobbies. These events not only served the purpose of getting to know colleagues in different departments and buildings but also served to increase social responsibility and awareness. The second Team Building trust was a structured and corporate event that worked towards understanding team dynamics,

2018 event brought together employees with

augmenting team work and addressing

different interests, skills and background. During

conflicts. Ten Corporate team building

this event, apart from having the opportunity

events were held in late 2018 involving all

to present their ICT skills, employees had the

Department Heads, line managers and other

chance to share other creativity skills including

leadership roles.

graphic design, craftsmanship, poetry, and the use of our native language.

Building & Sustaining Talent

The marriage of the creative arts with ICT is a contemporary and future paradigm that requires appreciation and foresight by the Agency at large. It is also an opportunity to

Talent must be encouraged, nurtured

encourage the workforce to seek creative and

and applied for the mutual benefit of the

alternate ways on how to address problems

organisation and the individual. The December

and create resolutions.

Celebrating Our Achievements During the December 2018 event, employees were encouraged to showcase their work in innovative ways through rich visuals or innovative presentations. Videos, sketches and satire were the predominant tools used to depict the Agencyâ€™s work and challenges in an enticing and interesting manner for the appreciation of the whole audience. nominated from amongst their peers for This outcome comes as a result of numerous

excellence achievement and contribution during

initiatives undertaken by the Agency to train,

2018. The selection of the awards winners from

encourage and promote its workforce to actively

amongst the nominees was performed through

participate in PR activities involving filming, social

a mix of votes representing Senior Management

media, advertising and writing articles.

and employeesâ€™ preferences. Moreover, the Agency presented a token to employees who

Employeesâ€™ Engagement & Commitment The strongest asset of the Agency is a workforce that is made up by several experienced and dedicated employees who have their heart tied to the Agency and its mission and vision. The Agency is also composed of from several Millennial employees who are energetic and forward looking towards the application of new technologies and paradigms. At the Achievements Day, the Agency presented awards to a number of employees, who were 15

provided twenty-five years of service.

Forward Looking Workforce The Agency operates in a dynamic environment filled with new opportunities that create high demands and expectations on its workforce. Motivating and retaining a skilled ICT workforce requires strong leadership that nurtures the full and hidden potential of its workforce. In its drive to support its highly skilled and forward-looking workforce, the Agency shall continue to create opportunities for skill advancement, job exposure and enrichment within a working environment that is conducive to change and creativity.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Training Statistics

€ 356 Employees

21,000 Hours of Training

€143,000 Investment

Emerging Technologies

GDPR

Covering

Local & Foreign Conferences

Management & Soft Skills

Technology

06 STRATEGY AND BUSINESS DEPARTMENT Supporting National Agenda for a competitive economy with a strong ICT core

MITA Annual Report 2018

“We assist government in strengthening Malta’s digital economy. Our work supports the public administration in developing and implementing ICT strategies, policies and initiatives which enable Malta and its citizens to prosper as a digitally-enabled nation in all sectors of society.” Andre’ Damato Manager Client Relations

A Year of Digital Outreach 2018 was quite an eventful year in terms of

was launched in collaboration with the University

Digital Outreach activities. Starting off the year,

of Malta. For this initiative an investment of

a full week of game-based learning sessions

€300,000 over 3 years was committed. MITA

were organised in collaboration with Esplora.

also gave the opportunity of a sponsorship to

The activity targeted young students, parents

MITA and Government employees to attend

and educators. This was part of the Erasmus+

formal Blockchain related courses.

Project – “Create Digital Games for Education”, aimed towards increasing the usage of digital

In cooperation with the University of Malta,

tools for learning.

Digital Outreach organised an AI Hackathon and delivered lectures to University, MCAST and

MITA committed to the Government’s strategic

students from Private Educational Institutions.

direction of establishing Malta as the Blockchain

As in previous years, a key initiative was the

Island, with the ultimate objective of attracting

Student Placement Programme. More than 350

and providing investment opportunities and

students studying ICT were offered a summer

incentives in the crypto ecosystem. Several

placement within 122 different organisations.

awareness sessions and technical courses were

This is a mutually beneficial programme for the

delivered by MITA to government officials and

ICT industry and for students alike, providing the

MITA employees to comprehend the use and

latter with exposure and learning opportunity

application of Distributed Ledger Technologies

to certain technologies/environments, and

(DLT). A scholarship scheme for students

the former with prospect to invest in human

studying Blockchain/DLTs up to doctorate level

resources of the future. In partnership with the Office of the Principal Permanent Secretary, MITA embarked on an EU funded project to increase the take-up of mobile public services amongst Maltese citizens and businesses. Training was delivered to 250 public officers coming from technical and non-technical background. An awareness campaign was carried out to inform citizens and businesses about the mServices. In addition, a research exercise was also conducted.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Student Placement Programme Statistics

A Gateway for Data Reuse The National Date Portal which was launched

377 Total Student Placements

as a live BETA website during late 2018, will act as a clearing house for all data related matters, including requests for data under the Public Sector Information Re-use (PSI) Directive. The portal will serve as a data governance and

118 Placements in Private Sector & NGOs

data management service designed to serve as the one-stop shop for the discovery of all legally based data employed by the Public Administration. Once the required Register or its Datasets are located, the portal will provide the user with all the relevant metadata including the legal basis, the public organisation

259 Placements in Government

responsible for its upkeep and other pertinent classification indicators about the data quality and availability. Depending on such a classification, and in line with General Data Protection Regulation

124410 Total hours of placement

(GDPR) obligations, by putting such data in the public domain, the user will also have adequate facilities for the on-line viewing or downloading of such data in a machine-readable, nonproprietary format as Open Data. It will also be used for the exchange of

>â‚Ź650K

feedback and clarifications in connection

invested in tomorrowâ€™s workforce

businesses in Malta, as well as any other

with official datasets and registers both within the public administration, by citizens and interested parties who may come in contact.

YouStartIT Accelerator Programme In 2018 the MITA Innovation Hub (MIH)

Secondly, the startup projects selected proved

launched its third and fourth editions of the

richer in technological content, since eight

YouStartIT accelerator programme focusing on

out of the twelve startups chosen focused

early stage tech startups.

on Blockchain with other projects tackling technologies such as deep tech, IOT and

2018 was crucial for the MIH on three counts.

Digital Games.

Firstly, the programme experienced a rapid internationalisation through the increase in

Thirdly, the MIH developed a greater degree of

the number of applications received; ninety-

maturation in terms of value delivered to both

four applications from nineteen countries for

startups and government. This was achieved

YouStartIT#3, and one hundred and seventy-

through richer content and the engagement of

three from fourty countries for YouStartIT#4.

an ever-growing network of mentors on the one

The total cash grant disbursed in 2018

hand; and active support of national policy goals

amounted to €85,000.

on the other. In fact, by dedicating YouStartIT#4 to Blockchain as a theme, MITA gave a valuable contribution to Government’s strategic direction of establishing Malta as a Blockchain Island. This year we also introduced new features in the Social Impact Agenda. This is a process, binding startups following the YouStartIT accelerator, to plough back value into the local startup ecosystem through press articles, lectures, workshops, meetups and other public events about digital technologies. Two years after launching the first accelerator, MITA’s accelerator programme is still the first and only one in active operation in Malta.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Laboratory for Emerging Technologies The MITA Emerging Technologies Lab was inaugurated by Hon. Silvio Schembri in October 2018. With an investment of â‚Ź250,000 the lab aims to challenge MITA employees, Government officials, students and startups to learn about and explore emerging technologies, and share the knowledge gained and the benefits these technologies offer. MITA invested in the latest technological equipment including: a 3D printer, various virtual and augmented reality headsets, stations for microcontrollers and mini PCs that can be used for experimenting with Blockchain and mining. Some of the equipment was available at MITAâ€™s stand during the Delta Summit. The summit was attended by over 4,000 delegates,

and hands on workshops are organised

including some of the best brains in the

to increase the knowledge on Emerging

Blockchain and DLT ecosystems.

Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Virtual and Augmented

Following the launch of the Lab, a programme

reality and various others. In addition, to further

of activities was set-up and various

the discovery and learning, MITA employees,

ongoing sessions on the different emerging

government officials and students have the

technologies are being delivered. Seminars

opportunity to work on their idea at the Lab.

07 eGOVERNMENT AND CORPORATE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Unleashing digital potential to deliver modern public services

MITA Annual Report 2018

â€œWe build and operate shared eGovernment services and corporate solutions based on the latest technologies that speed up transformation, strengthen digital capability, deliver public value and enable Government to anticipate the socio-economic challenges.â€? Michel Bugeja Enterprise Architect Corporate Initiatives

Incorporating Latest Technologies & Best Practices The year 2018 was an important year for the eGovernment & Corporate Solutions Department (ECSD). ECSD delved into new technologies and best practices with the purpose to adopt modern, user-centric, and cost-effective solutions. To achieve this, ECSD, through its functional units, worked closely with the government especially the Chief Information Officers, academic institutions, the private sector and others, to deliver on MITAâ€™s remit.

Cross-border Recognition of EU Member States Identity Schemes

appointed by the Certification Body during a TickITplus ISO9001 and ISO27001 audit in May. Subsequently, the team managed to integrate

During the year, ECSD successfully transposed

the German ID scheme based on middleware

the requirements of the EIDAS Regulation

with the Node by the specific time frames.

No 910/2014 for the mandatory recognition of Notified Member States. This Regulation

This resulted in Malta being one of only four

required that the Malta EIDAS Node be

Member States who successfully managed

operated by an ISO27001 certified organisation,

to meet the regulatory deadline for the

and moreover that the mandatory recognition

recognition of other Member Statesâ€™ eID

of notified Member State eID schemes, namely

schemes. This was a fantastic achievement

Germany, commenced in September 2018.

for Malta, and MITA in particular. It not only averted any risk of infringement procedures

The project for the construction and the

but placed Malta among the leading Member

operations of the Node were successfully

States in the achievement of eGovernment

reviewed by the ISO External Auditors

services interoperability.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Successful implementation of Mobile Government Strategy 2017-2018 December 2018 marked the third phase

The Maltese Government, to date, has a

of the Mobile Government Strategy - a

substantial number of services published as

2-year plan focused on providing users,

mServices, spanning across different sectors

Maltese citizens, with a fresh and innovative

and targeting various government functions.

experience of consuming Government

Alongside citizen-facing mServices, there

services - a mechanism through which people

are a number mServices which are focused

could interact with Government anywhere

specifically on mAdministration, which are used

and anytime. MITA was present alongside

by public officers to facilitate their day-to-day

Government in attaining another important

jobs. Such mAdministration services have a

step towards facilitating Government services

direct and positive impact on the quality and

rendered to the public, promoting technology

efficiency of services being provided to the

and using innovative technologies for shaping

general public.

the Government technology landscape.

Government Payment Gateway is now 3D Secure All credit card online payments performed

3D secure implementation logo and basic

through the Government Payment Gateway

information of the transaction.

(GPG) now have an additional security step known as “3D Secure”. 3D Secure was

3D Secure offers an additional layer of security,

implemented by the Government of Malta in

hence safeguarding against the unauthorized

March 2018 and completely rolled out to all

use of payment cards.

Government services by August 2018. 3D Secure instils more confidence in the platform, as it serves as a supplementary authentication layer to the already secure

Sustaining our Success in eGovernment

GPG. This allows for successful transaction processing only if there is proper online

In November 2018, the European Commission

authentication through the passcode and

(EC) released the e-Government Benchmark

correct financial authorisation by the financial

Report for 2018. This measures the delivery

banks. Once the card details are inputted, if all

and performance of e-Government services

parties support and accept 3D Secure during

in thirty-four countries: the twenty-eight EU

transaction processing, a redirection will occur

Member States, together with Iceland, Norway,

to the 3D Secure verification portal of the card

Montenegro, Republic of Serbia, Switzerland, and

issuing bank. This is characteristically branded

Turkey. Malta’s performance in the benchmarking

by the bank, showing the card scheme

exercise, which was carried out in 2017, has been once again outstanding, with Malta reconfirmed as “the leader and the best performing country in the European Union (EU) for Digitisation”. The benchmarking study measures four top-level indicators as well as compares the performance of eGovernment services between the participating countries. Like previous years, Malta has again attained an exceptional result by being the leader in all the top-level indicators (user centricity, transparency, cross-border mobility, and key enablers) and ranking first overall.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Key enablers

@ eID 51%

eDocuments 63%

Authentic sources 53%

Digital post 51%

EU 28+Average* Service examples

P Can I use my eID to retreive a judgement?

Can I use eDocuments when obtaining a parking permit?

Can I use an eForm when submitting corporate taxes?

Can I receive government communication digitally only?

96%

100%

87%

93%

88%

100%

86%

91%

86%

100%

Best performers

*Biennial average 2016+2017 28

Government Payroll & HR Service Delivery The Payroll & HR Programme’s successfully

modern interface, together with the addition of

launched the new Government Recruitment

several new useful features to both candidates

Portal in the beginning of January 2018. The

and government HR Administrators.

new recruitment.gov.mt portal provided a new In March 2018, the Government Recruitment Portal services were enhanced by the launch of a new Mobile App named “Join the Public Service”. This Mobile App is highly coupled with the recruitment portal system and allows candidates to keep themselves up-to-date on new Government job opportunities, besides sending automatic notifications to candidates about jobs in their area of interest. As part of the Payroll & HR suite of applications, a new Mobile App, “My Personal Kiosk”, was launched at the end of November 2018 during the Government Mobile Public Services TakeUp project. This Mobile App is intended solely for Government employees, and provides visibility over their own HR & Payroll basic data such as their absences and payroll details records. In addition, this App is accessible via the e-ID, thus all Government employee can securely access their personal details.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Moving along the path for implementing Accrual Accounting As part of the Accrual Accounting Reform

During 2018, the project has reached important

within the whole of Government, MITA is

milestones namely the business reengineering

supporting the Ministry for Finance in the

aspect of the first phase of the Solution across

implementation of the Corporate Financial

ten Ministries and Departments. Throughout

Management Solution (CFMS). The project has

the year, MITA has been pivotal in ensuring

the aim of reaching the business objectives

that the technology fully supports the end-

of Government to meet local and EU financial

to-end business processes. The Agency was

reporting obligations. It will also bring about a

also instrumental in Governmentâ€™s shift to use

shift in the way of doing business particularly

modern technology and kick start the process

through the introduction of workflows which

of migrating existing old systems to the CFMS.

streamline business operations across Government. It is estimated that two thousand five hundred users will be accessing the new Solution when fully implemented.

08 PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT Embracing Digital Transformation to modernise public service operations

MITA Annual Report 2018

“We aim to keep our clients at the centre of our undertakings so as to assure the provision of value adding work. Sharing our technical and business knowledge is fundamental to provide the ideal solutions whilst promoting our professional image through our endeavours.” Doris Micallef Consultant IT Management & Consultancy Team

“We deliver service support on several information systems that are critical to the day to day operation of our clients. Through continuous efforts to maintain a strong business rapport with our suppliers, we ensure that the government is getting a satisfying return on ICT investment.” David Vassallo Senior Projet Leader Health Programme

Enriching our Work Experience The Programme Management Department (PMD) is engaged in an ongoing internal transformation to ensure that emerging technologies will form part of solutions delivery to Government. Project teams have taken the opportunity to embark on modernization initiatives and include emerging technologies in their solution design. The CONvErGE programme has provided EU funding opportunities to modernize applications. This ambitious initiative requires that teams engage with service providers from the market to ensure timely implementation of applications and create capacity to work on modernization of core systems. Project Teams within PMD are engaging service providers to assist in the implementation of initiatives in areas such as Taxation, Social Security, Justice, Customs, VISA, INSPIRE and Public Registry. These resources are complimenting internal resources who apart from addressing ongoing client requirements are engage on modernisation initiatives. PMD has also worked with the Finance and Contracts Department to launch a Dynamic Processing System (DPS). This is a new procurement framework aimed to facilitate the engagement of service providers. DPS allows new suppliers to join at any time.

In this context one can highlight the participation of teams in related projects, events and proof of concepts: • Strategy for the implementation of Business Intelligence within the Social Security Department; • Workshops with the Taxation Directorate of the EU Commission on Blockchain and Advanced Analytics; • Exploration of the use of Blockchain in the Health domain; • Participation in MITA wide initiatives such as virtual teams, Chatbots and smart contracts; • Implementation of mobile apps as part of central government initiative.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Executing our planned Strategic Objectives Ongoing work carried out during the year

various Government Departments’ solution

was a major part of PMD’s strategic objectives

to support Business First implement the

within various domains to implement

one-stop-shop concept for business clients;

Government initiatives.

• assist the Customs Department implemented “system to system” communication channel

PMD provided consultancy work to Jobsplus

for Traders to submit Import and Export

to define their ICT modernization plan,

declarations directly through their own

recommending the use of the newly procured

information systems. Furthermore, a Mobile

Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure. PMD consultancy

Notifications App was implemented to

services were also sought by Business First

provide instant information to economic

to define the requirement for the publication

operators on their status of import and

of a tender for the implementation of a

export declarations;

Business Register.

• support the Commissioner for Revenue to improve service delivery primarily through

Several Simplification initiatives were

the implementation of new mobile service

commenced by Government entities. PMD was

for citizens to allow them to check their

engaged to:

Income Tax and VAT dues, whilst allowing

• provide consultancy services to OPM to

them to settle payment through the mobile.

define and publish Tender for the Business

Notaries were provided the facility to submit

Inspections Solution;

their clients Promise of Sale (POS) and POS

• carryout various enhancements to core systems to facilitate workflow between

extension online; • Moreover, MITA was instrumental in:

· the implementation of the Budget measures of Tax Free pension and to issue refunds to more than 200,000 persons;

· facilitating improved taxpayer services, such that payments of Income Tax and Social Security Contributions can be paid within the MaltaPost branches;

· implementing additional online payments services, including the mandatory online VAT return / FSS end-of-year documents

>26,000 electronic company tax returns 98% rate of the submitted tax returns

filing by employers engaging more than nine employees;

· setting up the mandatory VAT refund payment processing through SEPA direct

>350,000 electronic FS3s 85% of the submitted FS3s

credit;

· the integration of Taxation Systems with servizz.gov;

· the implementation of “MyAccount” online service to enable taxpayers provide their electronic means of communication

>21,000 VAT SEPA direct payment refunds

including IBAN, e-mail and mobile. Activities in the Social Security area includes support to the Ministry in the rollout of Case Management System for Welfare and Elderly, and assistance in the tender specifications for a

>200,000 persons issued budget measure tax refund

Housing Management Solution. Digital services were implemented to allow citizens to calculate the widowhood pension entitlement, refund of overpayments of benefits online, update their contact and bank details. Furthermore, various enhancements to the Social Security Information systems were

>220,000 electronic payments (covering Maltapost / Internet Banking and GPG payments) 200% increase over 2017

implemented to support the introduction of ‘Age 65’ proviso for pensioners, pensions assessment adjusted to take into consideration the National

Medical Aid beneficiaries stored on the Social

Insurance contributions paid after pensionable

Security Benefits Administration System; changes

age; automated award of Invalidity Pension

to award Free Medical Aid for an indefinite

to citizens certified as suffering from terminal

period in case of Diabetics; extension of validity

illness; enabled web services for ‘Pharmacy of

period of medical certificates and Single Means

Your Choice’ online access to data about Free

Test Categorization per household.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Moving into Modernised Ecosystem During 2018 MITA procured and installed a Hybrid Cloud infrastructure. Information Systems will now be designed cloud native and based on a service oriented architecture. This will render more effective the development and will provide an opportunity for employees to work on the latest technology platform using current best market practices such as using Microservices architecture that will enable the adoption of the Once Only Principle across Government. The Strategic Initiatives Team are working on the implementation of Software Reliability

Cloud Native designs.

Talent Management as a Service

The most significant milestones in this context

A further key objective of the transformation

are the award of a Tender to design the

is to shift employees to a higher value work in

Taxation and Social Security Systems in a

the delivery of solutions to Government. Project

Cloud Native approach, together with the

Teams will seek to provide more value added

commencement of the redesign of the Courts

within their work both from an IT architecture

Systems to modernize them for the cloud.

and business application perspective. This

Engineering concepts aimed to ensure the implementation of sound principles in the

will ensure improving job content within the The Public Registry is also going through a

Department and creating new opportunities

modernization phase, through which the legacy

for employees, especially in emerging

systems will be replaced. The new Public

technologies. This will continue to be a primary

Registry solution will increase business value

focus for work design and training activities

as it will integrate with Health Systems, to allow

carried out on the job and in collaboration with

the online recording of deceased persons.

Human Resources.

09 INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Adopting Hybrid Cloud as the gateway to digital transformation

MITA Annual Report 2018

â€œWe maintain and evolve a cutting-edge infrastructure for our clients in Government. This technological landscape is the catalyst and the foundation for the application modernisation programme leading to the development of services that further improve and enhance the interaction between the citizens and government.â€? Alan Caruana

Enterprise Architect Systems & Database

Network & WiFi Services for THU & Delta Summit During the months of September and October

wireless LAN connectivity, WAN connectivity

2018, two high profile national events were

and security measures to mitigate possible

held to showcase Maltaâ€™s potential within the

security threats.

fields of Digital Arts and Blockchain. The THU 2018 event was held at Fort St. Elmo and the

The work for the preparation of these two

Mediterranean Conference Centre whilst the

events started in July 2018, initiating through

Delta Summit 2018 was held in a venue in

regular meetings with the organisers to

St. Julianâ€™s.

understand their requirements and propose technical solutions. During the summer months,

MITA was a supporting partner for both

configuration of all network equipment was

events and provided the networking

carried out. The work required involved

infrastructure required for the provision of IT

exceptional co-ordination and teamwork to

services to participants attending the events.

ensure that all infrastructure would be fully

The services provided included wired and

operational in time for both events. Following these events, most of the network equipment was permanently installed at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, such that it can be used for other national events.

Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure for Government In the first half of 2018, MITA published an open Tender, part-funded through the European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020, under the CONvErGE Programme, for the procurement of a Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure. Following a thorough 39

MITA Annual Report 2018

evaluation of the offers submitted, the Tender was awarded in September 2018, at a value of €11.5 million. This is the largest single investment committed by MITA. Immediately upon contract signing, work with the successful bidder commenced through a number of intensive design and architecture workshops. These were immediately taken forward to the implementation, configuration and testing phases, to meet the ambitious ‘Go Live’ date of 28th December 2018. The Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure will be the foundation upon which MITA will host the majority of Government’s Information Systems and Services and will be the cornerstone of MITA’s ambitious programme of modernisation of Government’s core applications.

for Internet Browsing. This was achieved with little impact on the user experience. A tender was issued for the acquisition of

Enhancing Internet Security, Performance & Availability

load balancers to replace the aging revers

In addition to ensuring the continuous

Furthermore, in 2018, MITA moved its Domain

operations and management of MITA’s Internet

Name Service (DNS) onto a Cloud Platform,

and Web Hosting Services, in 2018, the Internet

involving the migration of over fifty DNS zones.

Service Team migrated all the Government users

This presents benefits with regards to high

to use the newly acquired web filtering solution

availability and security.

proxy servers. The newly procured solution offers next generation load balancing capability to cater for both private and multicloud environments.

Embracing solid Governance, Tools and new Skillsets Along with ensuring the provision of wide

File Share Services, Systems and Database

range of services provided by the Systems

Services and Virtualisation Hosting, in 2018 the

Service Team, namely Directory Services,

team focused much effort into â€˜transformingâ€™ themselves to maximise the Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure in preparation for its operation in 2019. This included up-skilling on Cloud Native Service Design concepts to start to engineer services in shared, secure and fully self-service manner using platforms and technologies that encourage creativity, agility and reliability. In addition, a number of key services underwent a full technology refresh, namely Governmentâ€™s User Authentication and Directory Services, among others.

Service

Statistics

File Sharing + Enterprise Archive

220 top level file shares, out of which 60 are also available via the newly implemented web interface

Server management

680 servers (Windows and Linux) managed centrally through enterprise tools

Database management

622 databases (mostly Informix and SQL Server)

Corporate Authentication

36,000 Active Directory accounts, most of which are synchronised to Azure so users can use their corporate identity to consume cloud services

Virtualisation Hosting (including Enterprise Storage and Backup)

368 virtual machines provisioned in 2018, out of a total of 1,200 VMs hosted on our platforms

MITA Annual Report 2018

Maintaining top-class Network Infrastructure for Government Throughout 2018, several major network changes were carried out by the Network Services team to continuously improve and future-proof MITA’s network infrastructure. During the first part of the year, the last remaining Segregated Hosted Environment related services were migrated from the legacy VPN Firewall Gateway (VFG) devices onto newly acquired next generation firewalls. As a result, the legacy VFG firewalls were decommissioned. The internet browsing bandwidth used across Government was also doubled, from 1Gbps to 2Gbps, such that services accessed over the internet and users’ internet browsing experience was considerably improved and any bandwidth ‘oversubscription’ was eliminated. During the latter part of 2018, the Network

Government NETwork (MAGNET) to MITA’s two

Services team upgraded MITA’s core network

fully managed Data Centres and through which

infrastructure to meet the requirements of the

all network traffic between the MAGNET and

various initiatives which MITA will be embarking

the Data Centres flows.

on over the next few months. Such new initiatives included the Hybrid Cloud Enabling

Apart from these network changes, the

Infrastructure project and the connectivity of

Network Services team worked tirelessly to

the new Oncology Data Centre Annex Room.

manage the operational work related to WAN and LAN whilst also providing consultancy

MITA’s core network infrastructure is the ‘hub’

services on various high-profile LAN

connecting all Government sites on the MAlta

Infrastructure projects.

10 SERVICE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT Focusing on digital value creation through seamless service provisioning

MITA Annual Report 2018

“We monitor and control the MAlta Government NETwork (MAGNET) through round the clock operations to ensure maximum service availability and optimized performance. Through our technical assistance and the utilization of the latest suite of tools we guarantee network uptime to sustain Government operations.” Jacqueline Ellul Senior Technical Services Officer Networks Operations Centre

“We strive to provide our clients with the highest quality Service Management, covering the Agency’s Service Catalogue and meeting established Service Level Agreements. Through the collaboration of a multi-functional environment, services are deployed, proactively administered and supported to meet highest customer satisfaction.” Mark Anthony Attard Team Leader Service Call Centre 44

User-centric Service Call Centre

Focused Client Services support

During 2018 the MITA Service Call Centre

During 2018, the MITA Client Services team

processed 143,000 requests that were logged,

supported and maintained over 40,000 assets

out of which 91,000 where phone calls.

within Government Departments and Officially

78,000 were related to calls requesting new

appointed bodies. This work included constant

services, while 65,000 calls involved providing

supplier management, ongoing assessment

assistance to client users. The established Key

checks, ensuring regular windows and antivirus

Performance Indicator to maintain lost calls

updates and handling various workstation

below 7% was successfully met, as the amount

related security threats. All this was done whilst

of unserved calls in 2018 amounted to 5.3%.

minimising impact on the users.

During this year the Service Call Centre was

Client Services were also involved in several

also engaged to lead the User and Access

projects such as the implementation of

Management project. This project seeks to

Microsoftâ€™s Local Administrator Password

overhaul the way the client requests for new

Solution to regularly reset local administrator

MITA services are instigated, approved and

passwords on workstations. Preparations

processed. An analysis was carried out to

were also underway for a project that seeks

establish the type of client calls that can be

to upgrade the operating system of all

serviced through an automated process. It

Workstations joined to the CORP domain so

is estimated that around 60% of all service

that all workstations have the latest Windows 10

requests received by MITA Call Centre can

operating system.

be achieved through process automation. Implementing such a system entailed extensive

Another project was the Modern Workplace

baselining across various systems to ensure

initiative, where the team created all the

successful automation. In this regards,

necessary installation packages to be pushed

substantial effort was made to clean-up

through the System Centre Configuration

available service data.

Manager system.

A tender for the setting up and configuration

Overall, the Client Services teamâ€™s constant

of the User and Access Management Solution

effort was focused on keeping all government

was issued and awarded during 2018.

workstations updated with the latest updates

MITA Annual Report 2018

and technologies, to provide an easy interface to the end user and safeguard the government workstations. This is achieved, in collaboration with our engaged desktop services support partners, who together see that service requests are served within the established Service Level Agreement and to the userâ€™s satisfaction.

Renovating our eMail Service Technology In 2018, the Government email infrastructure continued to meet the required targets in terms of availability and capacity as well as security. Throughout the same calendar year, the email infrastructure has receiving 83 Million messages from users over the internet, out of

supports the Government operations round

which 45% were blocked for security purposes.

the clock, retains the stability, resilience and performance it requires. In support of this, MITA

Notwithstanding the excellent levels of utility

has also ensured that the resources managing

and warranty translated into value enabled

and administering the given service have

for Government and other stakeholders, MITA

current skills with the ability of supporting every

has also focused its efforts onto renovating

aspect of the technology.

the existing architecture at all levels. In 2018 the plan, design and implementation of a new

MITA anticipates that through the years ahead,

Government email platform commenced and is

email shall remain one of the top channels for

underway for completion by end 2019.

stakeholder communication within and outside of Government. For this purpose, continuous

The preparation phase for this project was

efforts and investment for the improvement of

critical to ensure that this core service, which

such service is of top priority to the Agency.

Infrastructure Monitoring During 2018, the Network Operations Centre

MITAâ€™s Data Centres, located at St. Venera

(NOC) continued to monitor, support and

and Mater Dei Hospital. To name a few,

maintain the respective ICT services within

these include; the new Centralized Health

the Government infrastructure on a 24x7

Storage, the Technology refresh for the

basis. With the assistance of the Network

NIDMS Infrastructure, the Certificate Authority

Management System, 281,045 proactive events

Replacement, the Additional Oncology System

were handled by NOC. Furthermore, from a

and the prominent Hybrid Cloud Enabling

Service Management perspective, the Network

Infrastructure System.

Operations Centre was involved in 10,667 Incidents and Service Requests, of which 79%, were solved by the team itself. As part of the ongoing drive and future commitment, the Network Operations Centre embarked on upgrading one of its main tool â€“ the Systems Centre Operations Manager (SCOM), to its latest version. This would enable further enhancement on service monitoring meeting up with upcoming technologies. NOC contributed in performing backup management for around 1,420 servers daily, most of which utilize the Data Domain Backup infrastructure. From a Data Centre point of view, the Network Operations Centre was actively involved in the physical hosting of several high-profile systems within both of

Ensuring Business Continuity through Change Management To ensure service continuity, MITA practices thorough procedures for the management of Change, ensuring effective implementation and communication of the change action plan. Following the implementation of the newer version of the Change Management Solution, effort was focused to ensure proper maintenance of asset records. This was paramount for the effective management of change, ensuring minimum disruption and risk to IT services, thus improving the client experience.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Change Management Statistics

1200 400 Total number of Changes raised

Changes involving Critical Configurations Items

Top 5 - Top Level Services for which the majority of changes were carried out:

446 MITA Supported Applications

0011010 1001001 1011000

179 Database Management Systems

77 E-ID Certificate Authority

76 MITA Internal Tools

57 Email Service

11 INFORMATION SECURITY AND GOVERNANCE DEPARTMENT Putting Security and Governance at the heart of digital transformation

MITA Annual Report 2018

“We are responsible for the national Cyber-Security Awareness and Education campaign intended to instil a culture of cyber-hygiene amongst Maltese citizens. This mandate complements our department’s mission to predict, prevent, detect and react to cyber-abnormities whilst implementing measures to protect government’s digital assets.” Roderick Lia Senior Project Leader Cyber Security Programme

Information Security on top of our Agenda Digital transformation is a constant reality, in a domain where technology is always evolving. As technologies develop, so do the security challenges as a result of potential vulnerabilities previously unforeseen during their innovation as well as a result of cybercrime which aims to exploit both related technical and human weaknesses so as to reach its nefarious goals. Hence it is important that core Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services which MITA is responsible to deliver to Government are protected against the increasingly sophisticated and constantly evolving cyber threats. This role is being fulfilled by MITAâ€™s Information Security and Governance Department (ISGD), which during

monitoring activities such as those on intrusion

2018 through its four teams, has embarked on

detection, malware detection, behavioural

a related optimisation plan within the domains

monitoring, network and traffic monitoring,

of human-capital, tools and processes as

identity monitoring and web application

indicated below.

defacement, on an ongoing basis. The team has also invested further in its security detection

Protecting our ICT Landscape

capabilities, deploying tools that make use of innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence which enable effective detection of abnormalities on our digital landscape.

Coupled with the need for more effective

The SOC team has been vested with the role

detection and response capabilities, a state

of Government Computer Security Incident

of the art Security Operations Centre (SOC)

Response Team (GOVMT-CSIRT), through

was established as a single point of contact for

which it serves as a central point of contact

information security events within Government.

on cyber security support and intelligence

The SOC team performs information security

for Government.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Instilling a Proactive Security Engineering approach The Security Engineering (SE) team aims to

guidance on the selection of technologies

protect the Governmentâ€™s critical infrastructure

which provide adequate mitigation to potential

against malicious activity. This has been

vulnerabilities identified in a system architecture.

attained during 2018 through the execution of several security assessment exercises

deployment of systems and processes.

Continuous alignment to Security Governance best practice

The SE team has also provided consultancy

During 2018, the Security Governance (SG)

which are intended to help the Agency and Government, identify, classify and mitigate security vulnerabilities and risks, prior to the

both for internal Agency projects as well as for Government projects. Consultancy services included working with clients to build and/or design architectures that manage identified risks using proportionate controls; guidance on the secure development, deployment, operation and management of systems and services; guidance on the adoption and secure implementation of common architectural blueprints as well as

team has been instrumental in the articulation and the effective implementation of the Information Security Policy, that is based on the internationally recognised information security standard - ISO 27001 and that is applicable both to MITA as well as to the Public Sector. The policy consists of information security principles as well as prevalent best practices aimed at protecting Governmentâ€™s digital assets. The SG teamâ€™s activities included designing a number of internal compliance checks so as to ensure the effective implementation of the Policy. Activities related to business continuity and crisis management planning have also been carried out within MITA so as to ensure further preparedness as well as resilience, in the critical service provision to Government. Additionally, the team has begun looking into a policy and compliance framework for hybrid cloud model adoption within MITA. 52

Reaching out to increase Cyber Security Awareness MITA under the direction of the National Cyber

organised during October by the European

Security Strategy Steering Committee within

Union, aimed at inducing further awareness.

the remit of the Parliamentary Secretariat for Financial Services, Digital Economy and

Following an online survey amongst the general

Innovation, has in October 2018 successfully

public, a number of initiatives were undertaken,

launched a National Cyber Security Awareness

using traditional media, social media as well as

and Education Campaign for the coming years.

interactive forms of communication.

The Campaign, implemented and led by the Cyber Security Programme (CSP) team, focuses

The Campaign’s online presence was

on cyber hygiene best practices targeting

consolidated by CSP both through its dedicated

various audiences with various communication

Website as well as through the addition of social

channels so as to ensure effective message

media platforms including Instagram, Twitter and

delivery. The Campaign launch was one of

Youtube apart from Facebook.

the key activities held during the European Cyber Security Month (ECSM) - an annual event

In collaboration with Education authorities and institutions, the team has: • Supported the provision of cyber security related training mats for use amongst 4200 primary (state and non-state) school students and two videos as part of the new ICT education module introduced at Secondary school level; • Supported the provision of ICT equipment for cyber security related training purposes at MCAST; • Provided feedback for consolidation of the cyber security aspect in various lecture modules delivered both at MCAST and the University of Malta; • Supported the work placement of various tertiary level students through MITA’s Student Placement Programme.

MITA Annual Report 2018

In late October, a ‘Capture the Flag’ Hackathon – the Malta Cyber Crusades 2018 – was organised by the CSP team. This event covered the use of various security tools and security related topics which served as an opportunity for over thirty-five participants to enhance their cyber security skill capabilities whilst potentially eyeing cyber security as a work opportunity. The Awareness Campaign also focused on Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Three focus group sessions, involving the participation of over thirty SME business owners, in collaboration with the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise

The team has also ensured more effective

and Industry, the General Retailers and Traders

delivery on cyber security through various drama

Union and the Malta Employers Association were

productions including through a TV series on

held. The purpose of these sessions was to

the local national station, which reached over

understand SME concerns and experiences on

55,000 viewers during the first two episodes

cyber security to be able to deliver the campaign

and through Pantos during Christmas time which

to the sector more effectively.

reached an audience of over 6,500 attendees.

Cyber Security Awareness Campaign

500

18%

Social Media posts

increase in followers on Social Media

Events

Presentations delivered

Audience reached

65% 63,430 General Public

5,000 Academia

33,000 Public Sector

increased traffic on Website

MITA Annual Report 2018

Information Security support for special major Events The ISGD has also been involved in events

In June 2018, the EUâ€™s European Network

of national importance, whereby through the

and Information Security Agency (ENISA)

collaboration of multi-disciplinary teams from

organised a European Cyber Crisis simulation

security and operational areas, it ensured the

event targeting the aviation cyber space. ISGD

secure delivery of ICT services, tailored for

actively participated along with other key

the specific requisites of the event in question.

national counterparts.

Amongst these were the THU 2018 and the Delta Summit 2018.

12 FINANCE & CONTRACTS DEPARTMENT Investing to modernise internal financial controls and increase automation

MITA Annual Report 2018

â€œWe go beyond the traditional procurement cycle to satisfy the needs of both our internal and external clients. We practice a robust process covering the purchase-to-pay and sourceto-contract cycles ensuring compliance with applicable regulations and practices.â€? Wayne Portanier Executive Procurement & Asset Management

Moving to a modern Enterprise Resource Planning Solution In 2018, MITA embarked on a corporate

• Facilitate processing and recording of data

project to consolidate and enhance internal

through system integration, enabling easier

systems through the procurement and

administration and an improved reporting

implementation of an Enterprise Resource

functionality across all Agency levels.

Planning solution. The solution shall meet the following objectives:

• Improve efficiency through the automation of internal processes.

• Provide a single point of access to business

information and increase collaborative

A Request for Information was issued in June 2018

capabilities, together with a single source

to ensure that MITA’s requirements are aligned

of storage to ensure seamless availability

with the products available on the market. The

of information.

plan is to publish a Call for Tender by Q2 2019.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Government embrace Modern Workplace In 2018, MITA embarked on a strategic initiative to create a modern and more secure Digital Workplace for the Public Service organisation. This project objective is to provide the necessary tools to bring about a transformational change to enable Government employees to work from anywhere, any time and on any device in an efficient and secure manner. The ‘Government Modern Workplace’ initiative is part of the ‘Digital Transformation Process’ that MITA is leading across Public Service Administration. An initiative, that is congruous with the ‘National Digital Strategy 2014 – 2020’ and part of the Memorandum

seamless communication, created digital

of Understanding that Government signed

workspaces, and enable easier collaboration.

with Microsoft. Through this initiative MITA will

Even when users are hosted at different

gradually change the Government traditional

locations and are working on diverse devices.

licensing landscape from ‘perpetual per device’ to a ‘subscription and per user base model’,

The aim is to finalise the rollout of Office

which is aimed to standardize and simplify

365 across Public Sector by end of 2020.

desktop licensing.

Actual deployment started in October 2018, following an extensive online training involving

The deployment of Microsoft Office 365 mobile

users at two pilot sites. The initial milestone,

productivity suite across the Public Service

involving the deployment of Office 365 on

Administration will empower users to stay

all Government Information Management

connected, access their documents and files

Units’ personel workstations, was achieved

from any location, and work productively. This

successfully by end of 2018. Our foresight is

will bring about a transformational change,

now to reach out half of the Government Office

introducing innovative ways to facilitate

workers by end of 2019.

Devices for the Modern Workplace The Procurement and Assets section has once

MITA employs a one-stop-shop approach

again been the catalyst in providing Desktop

where departments across Government place

and Laptop workstations within Government

their requests for hardware. The whole process

Departments and Entities in 2018. A total of

is then handled by MITA, including supplier co-

1325 Desktop workstations, with approximately

ordination and management, to ensure that all

800 units alone being desktop replacements

Service Levels are met throughout the delivery.

at Mater Dei Hospital, and 2561 Laptops were

Through the process MITA also handles the

delivered throughout the year. This was done

Software Licensing process such that the end

through two locally established suppliers who

client receives a final product with the least

were engaged through open tenders.

possible interventions.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Smart Contract in collaboration with UoM Early in 2018, MITAâ€™s Finance and Contracts

of Malta and to economic operators alike. This

Department and the Faculty of ICT of the

collaboration involves the setting up of a smart

University of Malta (UOM) started collaborating

contract that may be employed whenever a

with a view of developing a practical use case

Government contracting authority purchases

that showcases the benefits of Distributed

goods from an economic operator.

Ledger Technology (DLT) to the Government MITA and UoM intend to demonstrate that through a smart contract, a contracting authority would be able to place orders for the supply of equipment, for the economic operator to acknowledge and action onto. Whereas the standard legal terms will remain wrapped into a natural language agreement, the role of the smart contract is to codify the performance aspects of a conventional contract. Milestones and timeframes, acceptance of consignments and payment together with the eventual levy of penalties for delay are important contractual matters that can be governed through a smart contract. MITA started work on the proof of concept in October 2018 with the help of three University and two MCAST students. The students will be building on the parameters prepared by the academic tutors and receive technical guidance from MITAâ€™s Programme Management Department.

13 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT Increasing environmental sustainability in our daily operations

MITA Annual Report 2018

“We strive to maintain a wide portfolio of facilities and administrative functions to fully support the Agency’s business and operational requirements. Our aim is to continuously foster a work environment that promotes employees’ wellbeing, while promoting environmental sustainability.” David Camilleri Driver/Messenger

ISO Certification and Related Activities During 2018, MITA continued its path of distinction by maintaining good results during the external audits against the three ISO Standards it holds, these being ISO 9001:2015 for Quality Management, ISO 27001:2013 for Information Security (both standards under the TickITplus Scheme) and ISO 14001:2015 for Environmental Management. Through these standards, the Agency demonstrates that its internal policies and procedures are adhered to across the organisation and in its day to day operations. In addition to the external audits by international accredited bodies, the Certification Management Unit within the Facilities Management Department conducts a

achieve full benefit of its investment in the ISO

systematic number of internal assessments to

Standards it holds.

assess and recommend improvements in line with the implemented ISO standards.

MITAâ€™s philosophy is that every single employee is part of its feat towards excellence,

Conformity with international industrial

therefore every department of the Agency is

standards is a very dynamic and ongoing

represented within the ISO Forum. The main

challenge. It inspires organisations to be always

duty of this Forum is to enable cross functional

abreast towards new methods of operation and

and continuous improvement of the Agencyâ€™s

emerging technologies which can transform and

operational procedures. Through the Forum,

improve their output and customer satisfaction.

information on standardisation can flow from

To this effect, the Certification Management

the roots of the Agency to management and

Unit continuously seeks to assist the Agency to

vice versa.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Maintaining the right facilities for MITA Data Centres The efficiency and availability of Government

Access Control, Building Management System

ICT services delivered by MITA depends heavily

and CCTV.

on its data centres facilities. Without reliable data centre services, MITA would find it difficult

In line with international standards and best

to meet its current service delivery requirements

practices of Data Centre operations, MITA

and hard to meet its hosting growth targets.

undertook several technical initiatives to ensure structured approach to its TIER III mandate,

MITA currently operates two main Data Centres,

namely:

with critical systems hosted on ‘active-active’

• Preventive maintenance programme for all

geo-clustered set-up.

critical components supporting the Data Centre functions in close coordination

The Facilities Management Department is

with Change Management and the Control

actively involved in the day to day operation

Centre;

of the MITA Data Centre in an effort to achieve

• Proactive and Practiced Failover

high level of functionality and maximise

Simulations - carried out on regular basis

operational efficiencies. This includes

to assess and confirm site infrastructure

management of Data Centre floor space

behaviour in case of faults and malfunctions;

and back of house support rooms, including

• Energy audits and analysis to ensure

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning

operational sustainability practices in line

systems, Standby Generators, UPS systems,

with Uptime Institute guidelines and EU

Electrical distribution, Fire protection and

Code of Conduct for Data Centres. The

security management systems, including

in-house Energy Metering system monitors energy consumption aimed at improving and measuring energy efficiency including specific dashboards:

· Widget with real time outside temperature, Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) rating and power loads parameters

· History data of the PUE rating correlated with the outside temperature

· Energy Cost information

• Physical security reviews

Setting up of Computer Room at Oncology Hospital In addressing the underlying hosting

the provision of various works and services.

requirements for the broad portfolio of new

Installation works are currently underway and

ICT initiatives highlighted in the MITA Strategy

scheduled to be operational in Quarter 2 2019.

Plan and other EU funded Projects such as CONvErGE programme, MITA has embarked on

The additional Computer Room facility at Mater

the setting up of a ‘Fit for Purpose’ Computer

Dei Oncology Hospital will also provide the

Room at Mater Dei Oncology Hospital.

buffer space required to embellish the current Data Centre facility at Mater Dei Hospital since

During 2018, the Facilities Management

this facility has now reached its 10th year

Department undertook the design blueprints

in service.

and technical requirements for setting up an additional annex Computer Room specifically

The Oncology Computer Room project is

designed to host 18 racks.

another tangible commitment from MITA to provide high-quality data centre services as

The procurement cycle in this regard, has

well as MITA’s dedication to retain improved

kicked off, with the publication of 5 tenders for

uptime and economic value.

MITA Annual Report 2018

New Emerging Technologies Lab Throughout the second half of 2018, the

officially inaugurated by Hon. Silvio Schembri in

Facilities Management Department stripped out

October 2018.

and refurbished the entire Level -1 basement area to convert it from stores into a state of

From its opening, the Emerging Technologies

the art open space to host the new Emerging

Lab has been a cradle of innovative ideas

Technologies Lab. Local designers were invited

for MITA employees and students alike who

to submit aesthetic proposals for the setup of

utilise the space and equipment provided

the lab space. Once the winning proposal was

to challenge and implement their ambitions

selected, in-house personnel commenced the

and immerse themselves into emerging

works which included finishes, carpentry works

technologies including Blockchain, Artificial

and mechanical and electrical works amongst

Intelligence, Virtual Reality, 3D Printing, Internet

others. The Emerging Technologies Lab was

of Things, etc.

14 MITA CARES

MITA Annual Report 2018

MITA Cares, the Agency’s arm responsible to lead our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, has further supported our solid statement towards responding to the needs of the most vulnerable groups in our society. It aims to contribute to the local society at large through our corporate participation as active citizens both toward social and environmental wellbeing. During 2018, the MITA Cares Committee and MITA employees, organised several initiatives and fund-raising activities in aid of various groups in need.

Fund Raising Activities

Donation of IT Equipment

This year’s activities included: • Dine-Out Event held at the MITA Head

Througout the years, MITA donated used IT

Office Canteen;

Equipment to the following beneficiaries:

• Sale of Easter Figolli in aid of Caritas PIP;

• Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology

• MITA World Cup 2018 Competition;

(MCAST); • Corradino Correctional Facility (CCF);

• Christmas Tickets Raffle;

• St. Joseph’s Home, Santa Venera;

• Social Team Building Activities:

• Dar Arka Ghajnsielem, Gozo;

· Gaming Experience

• Ursuline Sisters St. Rita Home, Tarxien;

· Pizza Night in aid of St. Jeanne Antide Foundation, Tarxien;

• Foundation for Social Welfare Service

(FSWS) Children’s Dream Project.

Donation of Office Furniture

· Gozo Jeep Tour;

· Fishing Event;

· Barbeque under the Stars;

· Sicily Tour;

· LAN Party;

· Shooting Range Event; · PMD Breakfast.

MITA donated Office Furniture to Caritas Malta, Richmond Foundation and St. Monica

All proceeds form the above activities were

School, Mosta.

donated to MITA Cares. 70

President’s Solidarity Fun Run MITA employees participated in the President’s Solidarity Fun Run. This event is yearly organised by the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation.

Cash Donations MITA Cares provided cash donations on behalf of MITA employees towards fund raising events or specific projects in aid of the following beneficiaries: • Puttinu Cares; • Caritas Malta; • FSWS-Sedqa ; • ALS Malta Foundation; • FSWS-Appoġġ • Agenzija Sapport; • Paolo Freire Jesuits; • Hospice Malta; • Id-Dar Tal-Providenza; • L’Istrina.

Christmas Party for the Children MITA Cares organised a Christmas Party for MITA employees’ children. The funds gathered through the participation fee was used to buy presents for the children.

Blood Donations MITA Cares encourages its employees to donate blood. This is a noble gesture to save

Supporting Persons in need

lives. Transport is periodically organised for employees to travel from MITA to the Blood

MITA Cares financed the cost of a motorised

Donation Unit and back.

wheelchair to a MITA employee.

MITA Annual Report 2018

MITA Kids Technical Session MITA Cares organised a half-day Tech Summer Programme for MITA kids during the month of February 2018 aimed at teaching different technologies in a fun way. Another two sessions were organised in collaborating with the MITA Digital Outreach team focusing on technologybased activities for children. The latter were organised during the summer months.

MITA Staff Donations MITA employees regularly donated cash contributions to the MITA Cares on a monthly basis through schemes administered by MITA.

Donation of Vacation Leave

In addition, some MITA employees donated one-off cash contributions.

MITA employees donated vacation leave hours. These hours are added to the Vacation Leave

Sponsorship

Support Pot which is used by MITA Cares to support MITA employees who are long term absent from work due to serious illness.

MITA sponsored the provision of a VM server based on Azure to Dar Kenn Għal Saħħtek for a period of twelve months.

Technical Assistance

MITA sponsored the cost of several plaques

MITA employees volunteered in handling the

that were donated to blood donors during the

back-office function during TVM’s fund-raising

National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS)

programs in aid of Puttinu Cares and Caritas.

awards ceremony. In addition, MITA sponsored

This involved answering pledge telephone

the cost of mini plants for NBTS to distribute to

calls from donors and coordinate logistics to

blood donors.

collect pledges.

15 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

MITA Annual Report 2018

BOARD MEMBERSâ€™ REPORT for the year ended 31 December 2018 Board members

Mr Tony Sultana - Chairman

Mr Anthony Borg

Ing. Saviour Baldacchino

Mr Joseph Noel Agius

Dr Helen Borg Muscat

Board secretary

Dr Aron Mifsud Bonnici

Registered address

Gattard House

National Road

Blata l-Bajda HMR 9010

Malta

The board members of the Agency

services to Government. Additionally, the

present their annual report and the audited

Agency promotes and delivers programmes

financial statements for the year ended 31

aimed at enhancing ICT education and the

December 2018.

use of ICT as a learning tool. MITA is also involved in initiatives aimed at proliferating the

Overview

further application and take-up of information and communications technologies in society and economy.

Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) is the central driver of Government's information and communications technology policy, programmes and initiatives. The Agency is responsible for the delivery and management of all programmes related to the implementation of information technology and related systems in Government with the aim of enhancing public service delivery. MITA also provides information and communications technology infrastructure

Core ICT Services to Government Throughout 2018, the provision of Core ICT Services to Government detailed by means of a contractual agreement between MITA and the Office of the Prime Minister, continued to provide the basis for the provision of the core ICT infrastructure to Government. 74

Embarking on our new three-year strategic plan: MITA Strategy 2018 - 2020 January 2018 saw the start of a three-year

At par with this implementation, we continued

strategic plan that will see MITA reaching

to invest in the necessary data centre

a three decades of service. Through the

infrastructure, including servers, storage and

focus on the corporate drivers: Leadership,

networking capabilities, to better facilitate the

Transformation, Innovation and Governance,

hybrid cloud capabilities such as self-service,

MITA led the pace to implement its ambitious

automation and orchestration, with highest

strategy to support Government achieve

reliability and resilience.

the digitalisation of the public administration from the front-end services to back-office administration.

Aligning our technology platforms in line with the rapid pace of technology and business change We have implemented a hybrid cloud platform within our Data Centre, designed to facilitate the accelerated digital transformation process of the Public Service. It is designed to offer flexibility, with deployment options to cater for the diverse computing needs of public sector business solutions. This has enabled us to offer traditional managed hosting environments, as well as the availability of cloud hosting services, coupled with the necessary agility, scale and security offerings.

Chief Technology Office In this period of unprecedented rate of technology change, where several strategic initiatives are in progress to modernise the Government’s ICT infrastructure, a new Office reporting to the Executive Chairman, was established to lead the Agency’s Technology Strategy, Architecture and Direction, including the steering of the Technology Committee (TECO). More than ever, we need to ensure that a common technology direction is driven in sync with the Agency’s strategic goals. The remit of the Chief Technology Officer extends to liaise with the internal and external stakeholders to ensure Government’s technology landscape remains relevant, effective, and provide value for money to the citizens and business alike, whilst meeting the objectives as set out in our Strategic Plan.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Empowering our Service Call Centre, Network Operations Centre & Security Operations Centre Our Service Call Centre (SCC), the Network

security, while enabling the facility for cloud

Operations Centre (NOC) and the Security

computing resources. We aim to enrich the

Operations Centre (SOC) are three strategic

client user experience across multiple devices

pillars of our service operations. Together

and platforms using these modern tools that

they are our frontline to foresee the ongoing

will enable users to the transition and embrace

operations of our complex ICT infrastructure

the change to be brought forward through the

landscape and support the public service ICT

ever changing digital workplace.

operational business needs. To further empower our competent human resources, who run these units efficiently and effectively, we further invested in tools to better monitor the network, systems and services, and proactively predict the threat of security incidents. We started looking into tools that leverage power of Artificial Intelligence for IT operations, including cybersecurity.

Modernization of Government Information Systems to support Digital Transformation We have set the way and trigger the path

Equipping our clients with modern workplace tools

for the modernization of core government information systems, including taxation, social security, public registry solutions, etc. We are adopting the most appropriate modernization options including code re-design, recreating new applications from scratch, as well as

Following the major investment for the

procuring new solutions.

procurement of software licences through the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, MITA started

Our internal teams are taking advantage of

deploying modern workplace Microsoft Office

modern software development methodologies,

365 solutions within the public service. We

such as DevOps combined with microservice

are empowering our clients with modern

based technology, to develop client solutions

workplace tools designed to facilitate increased

through evolutionary design and small codebase,

productivity, efficiency, collaboration, data

which are easy to deploy and scale as necessary. 76

eServices are increasingly prevailing for transitioning to Digital Government

Improving access to eGovernment solutions and strengthening core platforms

Malta has once again topped in all fronts of

Further to the simplification of the eID, the

the European Commission - eGovernment

trusted authentication mechanism to access

Benchmark Report for 2018, obtaining

Government eServices, we focused to enhance

most marks in all four priority areas, i.e.

the solution to transpose the requirements of

User centricity, Transparency, Cross-border

the EIDAS Regulation No 910/2014. We are

mobility and technological key elements for

now proud that Malta has been one of only

online-services.

four Member States who had successfully managed to meet the regulatory deadline

This is by no coincidence, MITA continuously

for the recognition of other Member States'

supports the public administration to improve

eID schemes.

current eServices and looks further to widen the eServices portfolio offerings. This year

We have also enhanced the government

alone, we have published 33 additional

payment gateway to introduce another

new mService (published through Maltapps)

layer of security by implementing the 3D

including 13 mobile apps and 20 responsive

Secure authentication. This measure further

websites, widening the scope of the service

protects online payments against electronic

offerings. Some of these services incorporate

payments fraud.

mTransactions, offering the support of payment functionality and the processing of personalised information through the use of a login and password via eID. We are supporting Governmentâ€™s commitment to achieve higher online services integration, offering end-to-end service provisioning that

National Cyber Security Awareness and Educational Campaign

address more citizens and the business life events. Throughout this process we are

MITA, under the direction of the National

leveraging technology to automate supporting

Cyber Security Strategy Steering Committee,

processes to reduce service delivery cycles.

is leading the National Cyber Security

Typical cases include the Business 1st solution

Awareness and Educational Campaign, which

and the Customs Electron System portal.

was launched in October. This is a two-year

MITA Annual Report 2018

programme aimed to raise awareness about

Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Internet

cyber threats and share recommended best

of Things, and 3D printing. The lab is aimed

practices to empower citizens and businesses

to host individuals to explore emerging

protect their digital assets and identity. It aims

technologies, and share the knowledge gained

to increase knowledge and instil a sense of

and the benefits these technologies offer.

shared responsibility to practice safe and informed behaviours on the Internet.

Investment in Promoting technology tomorrow's workforce innovation and For the 10th consecutive year, the Student Placement Programme was launched in March. technology This initiative demonstrates Governmentâ€™s entrepreneurship commitment to enable students, who are furthering their studies, to gain work Through its Innovation Hub, MITA has

experience through a summer work placement

continued to sustain further startups through

in the public sector, private sector or NGOs.

its Accelerators program - YouStartIT - now

This is an opportunity for students to have

in its 4th edition. We continued to support

their academic studies enriched by new

these startups develop their innovative ideas

perspectives, experience and business insight

into prototypes, through financial grants,

gained through working in an ICT environment.

consultancy services and tools, to establish value preposition. YouStartIT4 was hosted

Moreover, MITA signed a Memorandum of

as part of the Delta Summit 2018, the Malta

Understanding with the University of Malta in

blockchain and digital innovation conference.

August, offering scholarships to students to read for Masters and Ph.D. programmes in

In addition, we have inaugurated the Emerging

ICT, Finance, Law and Management, with a

Technologies Lab aimed to provide a space

focus on Blockchain and Distributed Ledger

to explore new emerging technologies, such

Technologies (DLT). The fund allocated

as DLTs and Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence,

amounts to â‚Ź300,000.

Financial review The overall financial performance of the

systems, risk management systems and the

Agency for 2018 shows a net surplus before

internal and external audit functions whilst

tax of €1,221,106. Revenue from the provision

ensuring the objective assessment of the

of projects and ICT services to Government

Agency’s performance and its management.

reached €27,462,556, up by 6% from

The MITA Internal Audit Office reports to

2017 results.

the BAC, enabling independence and the structural separation from management to

MITA also continued its investment programme

enhance objectivity.

to enhance and expand Government underlying infrastructure, with total investment

The Internal Audit Office (IAO) primary mandate

for the year amounting to €1.1m. Furthermore,

is to ensure an independent disciplined

during the year project expenditure of

approach in evaluating and improving the

approximately €3.6m was funded under the

Agency’s controls and in adding value to the

CONvErGE programme which is part-financed

operations of MITA. Risk based Audits and

by the European Regional Development Fund

reviews are conducted as commissioned by

(ERDF). Direct operational costs increased by

the BAC and as illustrated in the IAO annual

6% over 2017 as MITA continued in its efforts to

Internal Audit plan. IAO focuses on verifying

manage and contain costs for Government.

selected MITA processes to address identified key risks at both strategic and operational

Corporate Governance

level in collaboration with the Enterprise Risk Management function. IAO also recommends improvement in reviewed business functions and audit follow-ups.

The Board Audit Committee (BAC), made up

During 2018 IAO conducted thirteen audits

of Dr. Helen Borg Muscat (Chairperson), Dr.

and process reviews which all contributed to

Vincent Marmara and Mr. Jurgen Zammit, plays

ascertain that the Agency’s internal controls are

a key role in assisting the MITA Board to fulfil

sound and that MITA reputation is safeguarded.

its oversight responsibilities in internal control

MITA Annual Report 2018

Board Members' Responsibilities The Agency's statute requires the board

The board members are responsible for

members to prepare financial statements for

keeping proper accounting records which

each financial year which give a true and fair

disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time,

view of the state of the affairs of the agency

the financial position of the agency. They are

and of the profit or loss of the agency for that

also responsible for safeguarding the assets of

year, in accordance with the requirements of

the agency and hence for taking reasonable

International Financial Reporting Standards

steps for the prevention and detection of fraud

as adopted by the EU. In preparing these the

and other irregularities.

board members are required to: • adopt the going concern basis unless it is

The financial statements of MITA for the year

inappropriate to presume that the agency

ended 31 December 2018 may be made

will continue in business;

available on the Agency's website. The board

• select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently; • make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; • account for income and charges relating to the accounting period on the accruals basis; • value separately the components of asset

members are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the financial statements on the website in view of their responsibility for the controls over, and the security and jusridictions, where legislation governing the preperation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from requirements or practice in Malta.

and liability items; and • report comparative figures corresponding to those of the preceding accounting period.

This report was approved and authorised for issue by the Board Members on 5 April 2019, and signed on its behalf by:

Mr Tony Sultana Chairman

Mr Anthony Borg Board member 80

INDEPENDENT AUDITORSâ€™ REPORT to the Members of Malta Information Technology Agency

Opinion We have audited the accompanying financial

independent of the entity in accordance

statements of Malta Information Technology

with International Ethics Standards Board for

Agency, which comprise the Statement of

Accountants' Code of Ethics for Professional

Financial Position as at 31 December 2018,

Accountants (IESBA Code) together with the

and the Statement of Profit or Loss and

ethical requirements that are relevant to our

Other Comprehensive Income, Statement of

audit of the financial statements in accordance

Changes in Equity and Cash Flow Statement

with the Accountancy Profession Act in Malta,

for the year then ended, and a summary of

and we have fulfilled our ethical responsibilities

significant accounting policies and other

in accordance with these requirements and the

explanatory notes.

IESBA Code.

In our opinion, the financial statements give

We believe that the audit evidence we have

a true and fair view of the financial position

obtained is sufficient and appropriate to

of Malta Information Technology Agency

provide a basis for our audit opinion.

as of 31 December 2018 and of its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU, and have been properly prepared in accordance with the Maltese Companies Act (Cap. 386).

Other Information The board members are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the Board Members' report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not

Basis for Opinion

cover the other information. In connection with our audit of the financial

We conducted our audit in accordance with

statements, our responsibility is to read the

International Standards on Auditing (ISAs).

other information and, in doing so, consider

Our responsibilities under those standards

whether the other information is materially

are further described in the Auditors'

inconsistent with the financial statements or our

Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial

knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise

Statements section of our report. We are

appears to be materially misstated.

MITA Annual Report 2018

Responsibilities of the Board Members The board members are responsible for the

and to issue an Auditors' report that includes

preparation of the financial statements that

our opinion.

give a true and fair view in accordance to International Financial Reporting Standards

Reasonable assurance is a high level of

as adopted by the EU and for such internal

assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit

controls as the board members are necessary

conducted in accordance with ISAs will always

to enable the preparation of financial

detect a material misstatement when it exists.

statements that are free from material

Misstatements can arise from fraud or error

misstatements, whether due to fraud or error.

and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably

In preparing the financial statements the board

be expected to influence the economic

members are responsible for assessing the

decisions of users taken on the basis of these

entityâ€™s ability to continue as a going concern,

financial statements.

disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs, we

basis of accounting unless the board members

exercise professional judgement and maintain

either to liquidate the entity or to cease

professional scepticism throughout the audit.

operations, or have no realistic alternative but

We also:

to do so.

â€˘ Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements,

Auditors' Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements

whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery,

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable

intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or

assurance about whether the financial

the override of internal control.

statements as a whole are free from material

â€˘ Obtain an understanding of internal control

misstatement, whether due to fraud or error,

relevant to the audit in order to design

audit procedures that are appropriate in the

We communicate with the board members

circumstances, but not for the purpose of

regarding, among other matters, the planned

expressing an opinion on the effectiveness

scope and timing of the audit and significant

of the entity's internal control.

audit findings, including any significant

â€˘ Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness

deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the board members. â€˘ Conclude on the appropriateness of the board members' use of going concern basis of accounting and based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the entity's ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditors' report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures

Mr Manuel Castagna

are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit

for and on behalf of

evidence obtained up to the date of our

Nexia BT

auditors' report. However, future events or

Certified Public Accountants

conditions may cause the entity to cease to continue as a going concern. â€˘ Evaluate the overall presentation, structure

The Penthouse, Suite 2 Capital Business Centre, Entrance C

and content of the financial statements,

Triq taz-Zwejt

including the disclosures, and whether

San Gwann SGN 3000

the financial statements represent the

Malta

underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.

Date : 5 April 2019

MITA Annual Report 2018

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income for the year ended 31 December 2018 2018

2017

â‚Ź

Revenue

27,462,556

26,024,041

Cost of sales

(19,617,130)

(18,554,600)

Gross surplus

7,845,426

7,469,441

53,123

101,397

(6,856,452)

(6,749,604)

Operating surplus

1,042,097

821,234

Investment income

211,224

3,219

2,791

Finance costs

(35,434)

(15)

Surplus before taxation

1,221,106

824,010

Income tax

(342,662)

(177,273)

Surplus for the year

878,444

646,737

Total comprehensive income

878,444

646,737

Reversal of provision for cost of service pensions payable to Government Administrative expenses

Interest receivable and similar income

Statement of Financial Position at 31 December 2018 2018

2017

â‚Ź

3,327,832

3,790,959

Investment in subsidiary

33,776

Investment in associate

20,000

Deferred taxation

472,556

508,035

3,820,388

4,352,770

17,004

16,833

5,321,267

3,532,562

29,679

14,813,399

9,639,128

20,181,349

13,188,523

24,001,737

17,541,293

Notes ASSETS Non-current assets Property, plant and equipment

Current assets Inventories Trade and other receivables Current tax recoverable Cash at bank and in hand

Total assets

MITA Annual Report 2018

2018

2017

â‚Ź

4,542,497

3,117,785

2,239,341

7,660,282

6,781,838

965,795

1,110,840

67,614

67,584

15,306,242

9,561,042

19,989

1,804

15,375,660

9,648,615

Total equity and liabilities

16,341,455

10,759,455

Total equity and liabilities

24,001,737

17,541,293

Notes EQUITY AND LIABILITIES Capital and reserves Capital reserve Accumulated fund Total fund Non-current liabilities Provision for liabilities and charges Current liabilities Provision for liabilities and charges Trade and other payables Current tax payable Short-term borrowings

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board Members on 5 April 2019, and signed on its behalf by:

Mr Tony Sultana Chairman

Mr Anthony Borg Board member 86

MITA

Published on Jun 3, 2019

MITA Annual Report 2018

The mission of the Malta Information Technology Agency is: We will formulate and implement digital policies, infrastructures and solutions t...

MITA Annual Report 2018

Published on Jun 3, 2019

The mission of the Malta Information Technology Agency is: We will formulate and implement digital policies, infrastructures and solutions t...

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