Riżenja hi triq tal-irġulija

Ir-riżenja tat-Tabib Chris Fearne mill-Kabinett tfisser li fil-Partit Laburista għad baqa’ min għandu sinsla. Din ir-riżenja hi pass tajjeb. Hi pass fl-interess tas-sewwa u tal-kontabilità.

Chris Fearne għamel tajjeb li irreżenja meta huwa iffaċċjat b’akkużi kriminali anke jekk għadu ma jafx eżattament fuq xiex huma ibbażati.

Għax ir-riżenji fil-politika Maltija huma xi ħaġa rari, ir-riżenja ta’ Fearne hi ta’eżempju għal kull politiku dwar kif jista’ jerfa’r-responsabbiltà politika li jrid iġorr f’kull ħin.

Ir-riżenja ma tfissirx ammissjoni. Tfisser irġulija. Tfisser dikjarazzjoni li Fearne hu politiku responsabbli li lest bil-fatti jpoġġi l-interessi tal-pajjiż qabel dawk tiegħu u tal-partit.

Ir-riżenja hi it-triq tal-politiku ġenwin li qiegħed hemm biex iservi u mhux biex jisserva.

Wara l-eżempju ta’ Chris Fearne, issa jmiss iktar riżenji, fuq quddiem dik ta’ Edward Scicluna minn Gvernatur tal-Bank Ċentrali.

Isa, Edward, ftit kuraġġ.

The courage to change

Good governance is central to the proper nurturing of this 50-year-old Republic. Good governance is founded on transparency and accountability. Secrecy and the withholding of information from the public domain, in contrast, generate bad governance.

Transparency is a basic characteristic of good governance whereas secrecy is the distinguishing mark of bad governance. This inevitably leads to the shielding of unethical behaviour, as well as the propagation of a culture of greed and corruption.

Transparency and accountability are inseparable twins. Accountability is, in fact, non-existent or severely diluted in the absence of transparency.

Good governance is much more than a concept. It is the essential foundation for any democratic Republic.  In the absence of good governance, greed flourishes, and national institutions are slowly transformed into personal fiefdoms. Corruption and rampant clientelism are the inevitable results of a lack of good governance.

In her inaugural speech on Thursday, President of the Republic Myriam Spiteri Debono spoke of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Daphne’s assassination was described by Her Excellency as a wound that, as a nation, we must heal the soonest.

Daphne Caruana Galizia was actively involved in journalism, investigating corruption. Notwithstanding the continuous vitriol she faced, Daphne identified many a scandal associated with the governance model championed by the Labour Party in government.

This, in reality, is the wound to be healed. We need to finalise that begun by Daphne by ensuring, as a nation, that the corrupt face the music the soonest. Then the festering wounds of corruption, made worse as a result of a culture of impunity, will start the healing process. The rule of law must prevail without any exception.

The assassination of Daphne is also a heavy blow against good governance.  The public inquiry into the circumstances that led to Daphne’s assassination concluded with identifying the Maltese state as being ultimately responsible for all that happened.

A culture of greed has been reinforced with a culture of impunity.

The change necessary to heal this wound requires considerable courage and goodwill. I am not at present convinced that the political leadership currently in government is acting in good faith. It is a leadership under siege, continuously defending those who have driven this country to the dogs.

Land use planning and our environment are regulated by greed. Agricultural land is slowly disappearing as a result of the planning policies of the PN in government way back in 2006 through the so-called rationalisation exercise. The Labour Party opposed these plans when in Opposition but it is currently in the process of milking them dry to ensure that the greedy are fully satisfied.  Some have already licked their lips! Others are awaiting their turn.

It takes courage to act against greed, when both Parliamentary parties are fully committed to entrenching it as a way of life. They ensure the quality of life of the greedy, but in the process are ruining that of all the rest of us: both the present as well as the future generations.

The current set-up of our Parliament is part of the problem. It is no wonder, that, in this scenario, we are lumped with an electoral system that ensures that the voice of change is silenced by making it as difficult as possible for it to be heard.

Change is hindered as the national institutions are rigged against those who dare to speak up for the representation of a variety of minority views in the country.

As a result of this lack of political goodwill, ADPD-The Green Party is currently in Court contesting the discriminatory nature of this rigged electoral system. It is a constitutional court case that is hopefully approaching its conclusion.

At ADPD-The Green Party, we have long been speaking about the urgent need for electoral reform, focused on the need to ensure that every vote is valued. Until such time, no change can ensure that everybody is on board. One person, one vote, one value.

It takes courage (and political goodwill) to change.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 7 April 2024

Blood on their hands

When speaking on the report of the public inquiry into the circumstances which led to the death of Jean Paul Sofia, Robert Abela, the Prime Minister, emphasised that he expected that those who were singled out in the said report are to shoulder their responsibility. He also established a deadline by which he expected that they submit their resignation.

Some have been singled out by name. Others through membership of decision taking bodies whose actions were censored by the Board of Inquiry. In fact, it adds up to more than has been pinpointed by the Prime Minister.

At the time of writing, we were informed that David Xuereb has resigned his Chairmanship of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA), Peter Borg has resigned from Deputy Chairman of Malta Enterprise. In addition Victor Carachi and Paul Abela have resigned from the Malta Enterprise Investment Committee and the Committee itself has been abolished.

We were also informed that after the publication of the Inquiry’s report, Kevin Camilleri, the Head of the micro-enterprise unit of Malta Enterprise was dismissed from his post.

The report of the inquiry identified a multitude of persons, executives and institutions who in one way or another contributed to the developing mess which we call the building industry. Each one of them who turned a blind eye, or was absent from his post at crucial moments, or took decisions without a proper consideration of its implications should shoulder his/her responsibilities and resign.

I would go one further step: it is not enough to resign from the posts subject to the inquiry’s scrutiny. Each one of them should resign from all their public postings.

The report of the public inquiry, however went much further than identifying those involved and analysing in depth their operations. It did this in view of the fact that all these appointees where entrusted to ensure that the state shoulders adequately its responsibilities through a focused regulation of the industry.  

Yet we got to know that Jobs Plus has more members on its Board than it has inspectors. Also, we got confirmation that enforcement is weak everywhere, right through the building industry.

The Board of Inquiry has gone through all of the operations and identified those accountable. At the end of the day, when the dust has settled, however, the buck stops on the desk of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet of Ministers. 

The next step is to ask the members of the executive whether they ever sought to ensure that the public officers, executives and other appointees which they entrusted to regulate the building industry carried adequately their assignment. We know, not just through the inquiry’s report, that the executives in charge of the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) have repeatedly requested funding to build up their inspectorate as well as their enforcement capacity. It was not forthcoming. Plans for beefing up the organisations remained a paper exercise.

Are not the respective Ministers accountable for this?

Isn’t Minister Stefan Zrinzo-Azzopardi, until recently politically responsible for the building industry, responsible for the current state of the BCA? In particular for changing without justification its senior executive team in a most critical of times?

Minister Silvio Schembri and Minister Miriam Dalli were at different times responsible for Malta Enterprise and its appendages. At no point in time did they indicate an interest in the manner of operation of the Malta Enterprise Investment Committee and the extent to which public funds were properly used and accounted for. The manner in which the decision relative to the Corradino site was arrived at  is indicative that possibly there could be much more. It is logical to assume that proper oversight is lacking as such blatant irresponsible decisions would not otherwise crop up out of the blue. 

The inquiry, at the end of the day is about the responsibility of the state to regulate the building industry. A responsibility which the state of Malta has failed to live up to. Robert Abela and his team at Castille Place are at the end of the day accountable for this failure. He does not need deadlines to own up to this failure.

Prime Minister Robert Abela tried to avoid all this by forcefully obstructing the commencement of the public inquiry. He knew, generally, what the conclusions would be, as the problems addressed by the inquiry have been with us for ages, ignored continuously. It is a failure in governance, a failure in management of the state of its very basic responsibilities.

Isn’t it about time that Abela and his team at least apologise to the nation for their incompetence? As a result of this, they have blood on their hands.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 3 March 2024

The right to know and the duty to remember

“Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” Attributed to Spanish-American philosopher Jorge Santayana, these words signify not only the duty to remember, but more, the right to know. 

We remember that which we know. How can we remember that which we do not know: that which has been hidden from our view? 

Unfortunately, our society, most conveniently, is, at times, more interested in promoting the right to forget, or better still, the right to be forgotten! Forgetting and consequently ignoring the past always has disastrous consequences.

Transparency is a basic value in any democracy worthy of its name. Without transparency there is no possibility of having any form of accountability. Hiding information, ensuring that it is not accessible, is a common stratagem used by those who want to avoid accountability. Data protection is unfortunately continuously being used and abused in order to avoid accountability.

Data protection rights are unfortunately continuously being abused, as a result, at times, shielding criminal activity. Though well intentioned, the recent decision of the Data Protection Commissioner on the publication of online chats between Yorgen Fenech and Rosianne Cutajar is part of this (unintended) fallout of privacy rights. Though in fairness it has to be stated that it is the publication of the full chats which has irked the Data Protection Commissioner and not the information contained therein.

Reading through the Yorgen/Rosienne chats decision of the Data Protection Commissioner reveals the tightrope negotiated by the Commissioner to try and protect both privacy as well as the right to be informed. It is appreciated that it is always difficult to draw a line as to where privacy ends and public interest reigns.

But then having the full chats published instead of a synthesis, as indirectly suggested by the Commissioner, served the purpose of not quoting out of context. The full context of the chats is essential as this clearly shows the toxic development of a mix of the power of money, sex, and political power. Through what was published it is clear how money and expensive gifts was the price through which a young politician was purchased. This is definitely in the public interest to know.

The right to know is not the satisfaction of a curiosity thirst. In any democracy, the free flow of information is basic and essential. Withholding information or obstruction of access to it should only be an exceptional occurrence.

Unfortunately, rather than being exceptional, the withholding of information or access to it, is fast becoming a normality.

Our Courts are resorting too often to withholding the publication of sensitive information. The court case of the NGO Repubblika challenging the Attorney General’s decision not to prosecute top Pilatus Bank officials will no longer be heard behind closed doors as the original decision has now been reversed. This was another instance where our right to know was being stifled by those same authorities entrusted to defend us! Fortunately, the doors are now open. We have the right to know whether it is correct to state that the Attorney General acted abusively in defending criminality instead of prosecuting it! Has the criminal world captured the state institutions? This is what is at stake in this case! We have the right to know.

The reluctance of government to adhere to Freedom of Information Tribunal decisions is another disturbing matter.  For example, the Shift online news portal has won 40 cases at the Information Tribunal and 18 cases in Court relative to information requested on consultancy contracts and payments made to Saviour Balzan and his companies. Millions of euros of public funds have been used. Government is however refusing to be accountable for this use of these public funds.

What is the purpose of this secrecy? Has the state purchased the collaboration of a section of the media? This is what is at stake here. We have the right to know.

The right to know is basic in any democracy. Transparency and accountability work in tandem. Without transparency, accountability is hampered. A lack of transparency is an essential first step in order to ensure that accountability is avoided altogether.

Transparency is the indispensable foundation of good governance. In contrast, bad governance is generally wrapped in secrecy through the withholding of information which should be in the public domain. Without transparency, accountability is a dead letter: devoid of any meaning whatsoever. Accountability is about responsibility: it signifies the acknowledgement and assumption of responsibility for our actions. This cannot be achieved unless and until transparency is entrenched as an essential element of the operation of the state and public institutions.

Whenever government, public bodies or state institutions are secretive about information which they hold, and refuse or oppose without valid reason requests to release information they give ample proof of their governance credentials.

We deserve better than that.

published on The Malta Independent on Sunday: 28 January 2024

Standards in Public Life: Labour’s new benchmark

Robert Abela has embarked on an exercise to exorcise his Labour Party from its recent past. His ultimate aim is (most obviously) the rehabilitation of those who have pigged out.

He has already rehabilitated Joseph Cuschieri, former CEO of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Cuschieri had resigned from his post in November 2020 on the eve of the publication of a report investigating his behaviour at MFSA, which report was highly critical of his behaviour.

Cuschieri has now been appointed as CEO of Project Green. We were told that Cuschieri is a doer. As if this, in any way, absolves him of his highly errant behaviour in the public authorities with which he was entrusted over the years.

A clear pattern is now emerging, in that others will probably be absolved of the consequences of their actions. A clear message is being transmitted: accountability is now another dead letter.

Should those who resigned or were fired from their political posts or position of trust be rehabilitated? Definitely, not all misdemeanours necessitate a political death penalty. Everybody is entitled to a second chance. However, where do we draw the line?

Consider the case of Rosianne Cutajar. She is currently an independent Member of Parliament, having resigned from the Labour Party Parliamentary Group, in anticipation of her being dismissed. This came about after the publication of hundreds of chats between Rosianne Cutajar and Yorgen Fenech, currently accused with master-minding the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

On the basis of the information in these same chats, the media had reported Rosianne’s Cutajar involvement in facilitating a €3.1 million Mdina property deal and her pocketing slightly under €50,000 for her trouble, curtesy of her friend Yorgen!

The resulting investigation by the Commissioner for Standards in Public life had concluded that Rosianne Cutajar had committed a number of ethical breaches. Cutajar had earlier resigned as Junior Minister, pending the outcome of the investigation.

In addition to all this, at the Council of Europe it was queried whether Rosianne Cutajar’s critical interventions in the Parliamentary Assembly were motivated by undeclared financial interests associated with Yorgen Fenech. This was emphasised by Peter Omtzigt, the Assembly’s Dutch Special Rapporteur into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

If this was not enough, the Auditor General, some weeks ago, concluded an investigation into an employment agreement as a result of which the CEO of the Institute of Tourism Studies had engaged Rosianne Cutajar as his consultant. She was engaged as a management consultant in matters in which she had no known competence. It was therefore not surprising for the Auditor General to conclude that her engagement as a consultant was actually a phantom job.

This was consistent with her aim to pig out, as she confidentially declared to her friend Yorgen in their now public chats.

This behaviour does not merit the consideration of a second chance for Rosianne Cutajar, as Robert Abela is suggesting.

Considering the above behaviour, a political death penalty for Rosianne Cutajar is more than adequate if we are to have the most basic standards in public life.

In contrast, the new benchmark which Robert Abela is suggesting, would transform Parliament’s Code of Ethics into one fit for Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 21 January 2024

Habitual bypassing of procurement regulations in the public sector

Last Monday the Auditor General published the annual audit report on the Public Accounts for the financial year 2022. He did so, as is customary, after presenting the said report to Mr Speaker for the consideration of Parliament.

The audit report, which is over 300 pages long, contains around 250 recommendations for action meant to address the shortcomings which were identified in this year’s audit report.

The National Audit Office identified five key findings as a result of this year’s audit, namely: limited internal controls, insufficient enforcement of amounts due, a lack of an audit trail, weakness in the payroll system, and, most worrying of all, the “habitual” bypassing of procurement regulations in the public sector.

Various news items in the local media, reporting on the audit report, focused on the issue of the weakness in the tax collection system and the amounts of taxation due which are contested, have not been collected or have been written off. The matter is serious enough.

However most worrying of all is the issue of the “habitual” bypassing of procurement regulations by a number of public sector entities. This denotes the effort to bypass procurement rules, throughout the public sector, and seek corners away from the glaring spotlight of internal controls thereby avoiding proper governance. As a result of this bad practice, in addition to subjecting the public purse to unnecessary expenditure, this distorts competition and locks out various potential suppliers from participating and competing in a fair manner in line with procurement regulations.

This method of operation is unfortunately becoming a common practice in the public sector through the use of direct orders, when these are not necessary, and in particular by the splitting of contracts into a number of smaller contracts to facilitate this practice with ease.

Lack of adequate planning within the various entities is also the cause of non-observance of public sector procurement regulations. At times this lack of adequate planning is the result of administrative incompetence. At other times it is just planned that way and then used as an excuse to facilitate the renewal of contracts without going out to tender. It is also used to justify the use of the negotiated procedure as a result of which a public entity negotiates a contract for services or supplies required with one or two entities.

This is resorted to under “extraordinary circumstances” but the Auditor General chastised at least one department (AACC – The Active Aging and Community Care Department ) for repeatedly avoiding going out to tender and using a negotiating procedure instead.

The Auditor General lists the contracts for the relevant services entered into by the Active Aging and Community Care Department, through the negotiated procedure, namely Cleaning Services, Nursing Services, Meals for Homes, Clerical Services and Domiciliary Services!

The Ministry for Gozo, on the other hand was taken to task by the Auditor General for “habitually” splitting services of substantial value into several contracts in order to facilitate the issue of direct orders instead of issuing a public call for tenders. This is a fragmentation of purchase requirements and is an infringement of procurement regulations. It was authorized directly by the Permanent Secretary of the Gozitan Ministry!

At times one wonders what all those appointed in managerial grades in the public sector are doing. Specifically, one can query the role of Permanent Secretaries in managing and monitoring adequately the departments under their responsibility.

Permanent Secretaries are the top civil servants in the different ministries. Are they properly equipped to manage the Ministries for which they are responsible?

Enforcing accountability and ensuring good governance in the public sector, at the end of the day is the responsibility of each of the Permanent Secretaries in the different Ministries. Through this audit report, the Auditor General is once more drawing their attention as to what needs to be done in order to follow a road map away from bad governance, towards good governance.

An obvious unwritten conclusion of the audit report is that some of the Permanent Secretaries are definitely not fit for purpose. The fact that none have resigned or been fired since the publication of the audit report speaks volumes.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 24 December 2023

Rosianne Cutajar’s phantom job: the tip of the iceberg?

Last Tuesday, the Auditor General published a report entitled A Review of the employment agreement of the Consultant to the Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Tourism Studies. It addresses my request to the Auditor General, submitted on behalf of ADPD-The Green Party, to investigate the matter, which request was submitted eight months earlier.

There have been some interesting developments over the week, subsequent to the publication of the Auditor General’s report. Robert Abela, as Prime Minister, pointed fingers at Konrad Mizzi, the disgraced former Labour Minister. Konrad Mizzi, at this point is a very convenient scapegoat! Worse than that, however, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo has publicly defended ITS CEO Pierre Fenech. According to Clayton Bartolo, the ITS CEO was carrying out superior orders, that is orders of the former Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi!

Minister Bartolo should know better than that. He knows that obeying superior orders is no defence in shielding yourself or others from the consequences of criminal action which the “fraudulent” and “irregular” job “in breach of all policies and procedures” at the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) amounts to, in the Auditor General’s own words.

Minister Bartolo’s defence of the ITS CEO Pierre Fenech may be indicative of a damage control exercise as, possibly, the Rosianne Cutajar case is just the tip of the iceberg. There could be much more rot at ITS which can only be uncovered as a result of an in-depth investigation of its operations. The Auditor General has shown the way. It is now up to the Commissioner of Police to dig deeper: in particular ITS Chief Pierre Fenech should be held accountable for his actions. At the end of the day, it was he that made the phantom job possible. He should now carry the can.

This is not the first case of its kind. Currently pending before our criminal Courts is another case on the creation of another phantom job: that of Melvin Theuma. This particular phantom job was created within the OPM laboratory. In fact, the Police have arraigned five persons to answer criminal charges on the creation of the Theuma phantom job. Melvin Theuma was paid with this job for services rendered in brokering the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Even Melvin Thuma cashed his pay cheque and never turned up for work.

Among those arraigned by the Police was the then CEO of the state-owned company Housing Maintenance and Embellishment Co Ltd, which company issued Melvin Theuma’s pay-cheques.

Likewise, Pierre Fenech, ITS Chief Executive, should answer for his criminal action in creating Rosianne Cutajar’s phantom job, as a result defrauding the public purse of the monies disbursed. The Minister’s testimonial in this case is intended as an indirect public pressure on the Police not to take any action.

In my request to the Auditor General on 28 March 2023 I had pointed out that the duties of the post of consultant to the ITS CEO were incompatible with the known competencies of the Hon Rosianne Cutajar! She was a qualified teacher of Italian in secondary schools, yet she was expected to advise on strategic management issues of the Institute of Tourism Studies as well as on issues of its financial administration.

The Auditor General’s report confirms the widely held view on the phantom nature of Cutajar’s employment at ITS. In addition, as a result of the meticulous investigation carried out by the National Audit Office team it has also been concluded that practically all the rules regulating public sector recruitment were ignored. Rules which were developed over the years to ensure good governance in the public sector, of which the ITS forms part, were thrown overboard.

The creation of phantom jobs in the public sector is clearly a misappropriation of public funds. Those responsible should be arraigned in our criminal courts. It is for this purpose that ADPD-The Green Party is insisting that the next step after the Auditor General’s report is criminal action against all those involved in this fraudulent action.

The Police should, however, in their investigation, look beyond Rosianne Cutajar’s phantom job. It should delf deeper into the ITS operations. This could well be the proverbial tip of the iceberg. No wonder Robert Abela and Clayton Bartolo are keen to pin this on Konrad Mizzi.

published Malta Independent on Sunday: 3 December 2023

The normalisation of clientelism

In the past few days, government has, once more, through various Ministers, sought to normalise clientelism. Each Ministry, nowadays, has a fully staffed office that is described as a “customer care” unit.

“Customer care” in the government Ministries is many a time, sugar-coated clientelism. Calling it “customer care” makes it more palatable in this day and age, maybe. This is the way the political system works, Robert Abela stated.

When the “customer care” unit helps citizens in negotiating the bureaucratic labyrinth, it may serve a useful purpose. The stories making the headlines are however of quite a different nature. They are the result of the utilisation of so-called “customer care” unit to short-circuit the rules which are applicable to all of us. Consequently, it is a “customer care” which screws the system applicable to lesser mortals.

At least two completely different services offered by the state are being sabotaged: severe disability pensions on the one hand and the issuing of licences to drive vehicles. To this one can also add Air Malta, which is clearly a victim of blatant clientelism practiced over the years by the PLPN.

Just four weeks ago Newsbook carried an interview with a person who was sought out by an identified official of the “customer care” desk at the office of the prime minister. She was advised to apply for a severe disability pension when she was aware that she was not entitled to it.

The details of the driving tests scandal, on the other hand, clearly show the link with the entourage of various holders of political office.

The electronic messaging made public clearly shows the manner in which the political system has worked. Referring the name of driving test candidates to the Transport Malta official responsible for the driving test is way beyond what is considered legitimate assistance from customer care officers. It is pretty obvious to one and all that it was a push to assist persons to pass the driving test in a deceitful manner.

Warning the examiner that if a particular candidate failed the driving test the examiner would have to answer to the Minister for his action is serious enough. It is anything but normal. A political system which considers that this is permissible, as the Prime Minister is suggesting, is unacceptable if the rule of law is to prevail.

In other jurisdictions political responsibility was shouldered for much less than this.

Consider for example the resignation of David Blunkett as Home Secretary from Tony Blair’s Cabinet in 2005 in the United Kingdom. The case involved a visa application for his ex-lover’s nanny which had been fast-tracked. Even David Blunkett had insisted that “he had done nothing wrong”. However, he resigned from his political office, as, he emphasised, that questions about his honesty “had damaged his government”. The BBC had then quoted David Blunkett as having stated that “any perception of this application being speeded up requires me to take responsibility.”

Political responsibility is all about accountability. Holders of political office, including the Prime Minister are accountable for the manner in which they and their staff act and interact with the public. Brushing such matters aside and labelling them as “normal” adds to the toxicity of the political system.

The resignation of Silvio Grixti from his parliamentary seat almost two years ago is not enough. Grixti resigned as he was being investigated for his alleged criminal activity. We are here dealing with those who have political responsibility for the ongoing normalisation of clientelism, which matter, unfortunately, is being completely ignored.

The continuous repetition of the phrase “he did nothing wrong” betrays what is wrong with the whole system. Depicting it as “normal” is even worse.

Much is wrong with the political system in place. We need a political system founded on what is right: one based on rights and not one based on favours.

published on The Malta Independent on Sunday: 8 October 2023

The developing scandal: beyond the obvious

On 20 December 2021 the media informed us that Labour MP Silvio Grixti was resigning his Parliamentary seat. The reason for his resignation was not clear. It was however understood to be connected to “fraudulent sick leave certificates” in respect of which he was interrogated by the Police and subsequently released on police bail.

No details were released twenty-one months ago. The media were most probably given false leads as a number of outlets compared the Silvio Grixti case to the probe on sickness certificates then under way on PN MP Stephen Spiteri.

With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that Silvio Grixti needed to shoulder total responsibility for whatever had happened, immediately. It was on the eve of a general election and the actual scandal details had to remain under wraps. Otherwise, it could develop out of control, and that was too risky on the eve of a general election. It would have defeated the whole purpose of the scam: the purchase of votes through the fraudulent use of social services.

The scandal, briefly explained, so far is known to involve around 800 persons who received a “severe disability pension”. The amounts involved vary and are in the region of €450 per month per person. To benefit, proof in the form of specialised medical certification has to be submitted.

In a highly organised manner, a number of Labour Party supporters who were declaring with their social contacts that they did not intend to vote during the 2022 general elections were approached by persons linked to the Labour Party. This Labour Party “customer care group” offered these voters the possibility of receiving a financial benefit in the form of a severe disability pension. A number took the bait and were supplied with forged medical certificates to submit to the Social Security authorities in order that they start receiving a monthly cheque.

Some queried how this was possible when they did not have the ailments which would entitle them to receive the pension. Last week Newsbook published an interview with one such person. She explained how on the eve of the general election she received a phone call from the customer care unit of the Office of the Prime Minister. The person calling, whom she identified, discussed with her the reasons for considering not voting. She then suggested that she apply for the severe disability pension. As she queried her eligibility, she even received emails from the OPM customer care officer with details of the application.

There are other similar stories linking persons close to the Labour Party to this social benefit scam. It is also being claimed that in some cases kickbacks were involved! The allegations are being made relative to middlemen and canvassers of some Minister currently in office!

This is a case of organised crime. The mastermind/s have kept their distance from those actively involved in order to try and avoid identification!

More details are being published as individual cases are being decided by the Courts. The misapplied social benefits are being refunded and suspended prison sentences are being applied. However only some 20 per cent of the identified cases have been concluded. Moreover, it is only the beneficiaries that have been arraigned to date. The middlemen and those producing the forged documents have not been publicly identified so far. It is clear that Silvio Grixti is definitely not alone! However, no one has been publicly identified yet, except the customer care officer at the OPM! Who are the others?

Why is it taking so long to bring all those involved to justice?  This includes the identification and prosecution of the mastermind/s. The police have known about the case, at least, since when they interrogated Silvio Grixti, 21 months ago.

It is not only a case of the fraudulent receipt of social benefits. It is also an issue of corrupt practices. Unfortunately, no legal action can be taken in respect of corrupt (electoral) practices as such action is limited to a time frame of three days from the official publication of the general election results.

The police lack of action for such a long time enabled the scam to reap its primary dividends: that of exchanging votes with fraudulent social benefits. In addition, the police inaction ended up protecting the Labour Party which did not have to face the music when it really mattered: before the March 2022 general elections.

The public inquiry led by Mr Justice (retired) Antonio Mizzi will be examining the technical aspects of the social security application process to ensure that possibly there would not be a repetition of this scam. It is unlikely however that it will identify the masterminds and the middlemen and women! That is beyond its terms of remit. Only after the mastermind/s have been identified, and after they have faced the music, will justice have been served.

There is also a political responsibility to be shouldered. Everything points towards the Labour Party. If Robert Abela was a decent politician, he would have immediately accepted political responsibility as party leader and stood down. When he is eventually cornered, Abela will shift the blame on someone else. Decent men and women have resigned from public office for much less than that!

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 17 September 2023

The auditor general: enforcing accountability and ensuring good governance

The office of the Auditor General is a fundamental institution of our Republic. The office is attached to Parliament to which it reports on a regular basis.

Together with my colleagues, last week I had a meeting with the Auditor General and his team in order to discuss ADPD’s request for his office to examine the issues arising from the failure of  Enemalta’s distribution network during the July heatwave.

Has Enemalta managed its resources adequately over the years? Is proper planning in operation at the Corporation in order to ensure that the impacts of climate change are contained? The multiple failures of Enemalta’s distribution network indicate a negative response to these queries. Hence the need for an investigation to identify the method of operation of Enemalta over the years, spotlighting the mismanagement and lack of planning which has led to the current state of play. Those responsible must be held to account.

Our request for an investigation of Enemalta operations brings to four the number of pending ADPD requests for investigations on the Auditor General’s desk.

Earlier this year, in April, ADPD had requested an investigation of the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) relative to a contract of service entered into between the said ITS and the Honourable Rosianne Cutajar. She was then a Labour Member of Parliament, but is now an independent MP after being squeezed out of the Labour Parliamentary Group.

We had then requested that the Auditor General examine how the ITS could ever receive adequate service as detailed in its contract of service with the Hon Cutajar when the said Cutajar has no competence in such matters. Specifically, ADPD had drawn the attention of the Auditor General and queried as to how a qualified Italian secondary school teacher could advice on the management of the ITS including its financial management, an area in which it is public knowledge that Cutajar has no competence whatsoever.

Another request for an investigation submitted in January 2022 by ADPD concerns the golden handshakes received (mostly) by members of Cabinet whenever heads roll or Cabinets change. The criteria for the utilisation of public funds in such cases have to be clear and should not to be tailor-made and adjusted every so often by those directly concerned or earmarked to benefit.

Of particular concern is the lack of transparency as well as a lack of adequate oversight in this important area of expenditure. So far little feedback has been forthcoming. With rumours of another imminent Cabinet reshuffle intensifying, the importance of an early conclusion of this investigation is considerable.

A third investigation requested by ADPD concerns the Department of Revenue and its practice of offsetting taxes due with pending payments. As far as is known, this is being done without clear rules and robust oversight. Way back in May 2021 ADPD had requested the Auditor General to examine this practice in depth. Any deals on the offsetting of taxes due must stand up to public scrutiny. It must also be subject to robust oversight procedures.

If this is not done, we could have a serious problem on our hands. In a press statement issued on 19 May 2021 I had stated that “Any suspicions that tax reductions are a ‘thank you’ for any donations to the party in government must be swiftly dispelled.”

If properly done offsetting taxes due with pending payments may be a valid tool for the proper management of public funds. There is however a real danger that without proper oversight this practice could camouflage suspicious deals which at the end of the day further fund illegal political party financing.

The office of the Auditor General has a central role in ensuring that the public sector is transparently governed and accountable for all its actions and operations. It is likewise our duty at ADPD to draw its attention to investigate areas which in our opinion require careful scrutiny. We do this in the belief that the office of the Auditor General is a fundamental institution, essential for the good governance of our Republic.

The proper functioning of the republic’s institutions is the only effective guarantee for good governance and accountability.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday 13 August 2023