Ir-Repubblika hi marida

Aħna u nsegwu l-ġbir tal-provi fil-Qrati dwar id-diversi każi li għadhom għaddejjin in konnessjoni mal-assassinju ta’ Daphne Caruana Galizia nistħajjilni qed nara dokumentarju dwar il-falliment tal-istituzzjonijiet f’Malta. Dokumentarju dwar il-falliment tal-istat Malti, dwar ir-Repubblika li għamlet lilha innifisha impotenti fil-konfront tal-kriminalità.  

L-assassinju ta’ Daphne hu ukoll falliment tal-korp tal-Pulizija li ma rnexxilux isib tarf tal-kriminalità organizzata.  

Kif jista’ l-korp tal-Pulizija jagħmel dmiru meta jkollu uffiċjali bħal Silvio Valletta li jkun fil-but tal-kriminali? Silvio Valletta għadu jiġri mas-saqajn: s’issa għad ma ħadux passi kontrieh minkejja l-ħsara enormi li għamel lill-kredibilità tal-korp tal-Pulizija u lill-pajjiż.

Illum nafu kemm Silvio Valletta tħaxken ma  Yorgen Fenech. Valletta ma kienx xi kuntistabbli  f’xi għassa tal-pulizija mwarrba. Prattikament kien imexxi l-Korp tal-Pulizija bħala Deputat Kummissarju. Kien jirrapresenta lill-Korp tal-Pulizja fuq il-Bord ta’ Tmexxija tal-Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU).

Il-fatt li wieħed mill-fizzjali tal-pulizija l-iktar anzjani jaġixxi b’dan il-mod jagħti indikazzjoni ċara ta’ kif kienu jaħsbuha sħabu fit-tmexxija tal-korp fil- Furjana. Rapport tal-Ombudsman irrappurtat iktar kmieni dan ix-xahar dwar investigazzjoni mitluba fuq ilment ta’ Supretendent tal-Pulizija fisser kif kienet tinħatar it-tmexxija tal-korp: il-lealtà lejn il-kummissarju qabel il-lejaltà lejn is-servizz, kienet kwalifika essenzjali.  Meta l-għażla tal-fizzjali tal-korp kienet issir b’dan il-mod xejn m’għandna nissorprendu ruħna li l-korp ilu ftit kompromess.

Iz-ziju Silvio kien investiment li jirrendi għal Yorgen Fenech. Għal żmien twil Silvio Valletta kien il-muftieħ li iffaċilita l-aċċess  ta’ Yorgen Fenech għal kull xorta ta’ informazzjoni li kien jeħtieġ.  Dan hu eżempju ċar ta’ x’nifhmu meta ngħidu li d-dinja kriminali qegħda bosta passi qabel il-korp tal-pulizija.   F’dan il-kaz, permezz ta’ Silvio Valletta d-dinja kriminali setgħet tinfluwenza l-korp bir-remote control.

Diffiċli biex nifhmu kif inhu possibli li jkollna kollass iktar gravi tal-istituzzjonijiet minn hekk.

Dan kollu ma ġarax mil-lum għal għada. Imma hu ċentrali biex nifhmu kif żviluppat l-għanqbuta tal-maniġġi tul is-snin liema maniġġi wasslu għall-assassinju ta’  Daphne Caruana Galizia u lil hinn.  

Meta saret emfasi dwar il-kunflitt ta’ interess ta’ Silvio Valletta minħabba li dakinnhar, martu, kienet membru tal-Kabinett, ir-resistenza biex iwarrab kienet enormi. Kella tkun kawża fil-Qrati, li ħadet iż-żmien, li wasslet biex jitwarrab mill-investigazzjoni.  

Issa ġie ippubblikat ir-rapport finali tal-inkjesta pubblika dwar l-assassinju ta’ Daphne. Ir-rapport ma jgħidilniex min qatilha, jew min ordna l-qtil tagħha: dak qatt ma kien l-iskop tar-rapport. Ir-rapport imma jeżamina l-klima ta’ impunità li nħolqot u li wasslet għall-assassinju tagħha.  Ir-rapport juri kif in-negozju u l-politika saru ħaġa waħda, tant li xi kultant mhux iktar faċli biex tgħid min hu min.

Il-konklużjoni ewlenija tar-rapport hija li Malta inħakmet minn mentalità mafjuża. L-istat Malti ntrikeb minn mentalità kulturali li tippermetti mentalità u attitudni mafjuża li jrabbu l-għeruq.

Ftit hemm proposti fir-rapport tal-inkjesta li huma ġodda għad-dibattitu politiku lokali. Bosta mill-proposti ilhom fl-aġenda pubblika numru ta’ snin. Uħud ġew imbiċċra, mdgħajfa inkella gvernijiet differenti għamlu snin sħaħ iparlaw dwarhom u jagħmlu ftit li xejn.   Il-ħarsien ta’ min ikun lest li jikxef il-ħmieġ (whistleblowing) għadu soġġett għall-ispag politiku kif rajna b’għajnejna għal numru ta’ snin. Ir-regolamentazzjoni tal-lobbying hi soġġetta għal ħafna paroli, imma s’issa ma sar xejn. Ir-regolamentazzjoni tal-imġieba etika saret farsa, minkejja l-isforzi ta’ George Hyzler, il-Kummissarju dwar l-iStandards fil-Ħajja Pubblika.

Huwa essenzjali li l-kuntatti kollha bejn kull negozju u l-friegħi kollha tal-istat ikunu ċari u trasparenti. Kollox, mingħajr eċċezzjoni. Ilu jsir paroli dwar dan imma ftit wisq sar dwaru.

L-istat Malti ġie mdgħajjef minn dawk li fittxew li jsiru sinjuri malajr, a kwalunkwe kost. Jiddependi minna jekk inwaqqfuhomx l-iktar kmieni possibli. Ir-Repubblika marida.

Ippubblikat fuq Illum : il-Ħadd 1 t’Awwissu 2021

The Republic is sick

Following the compilation of evidence in our law courts relative to the multiple cases dealing with the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia is in itself a detailed continuously developing documentary of the failure of our institutions, the failure of the state.

Daphne’s assassination is also a failure of the police corps to keep a tag on criminal activity.

How could the police corps carry out its duties with officers like Silvio Valletta hibernating deep inside criminal pockets? Silvio Valletta has to date not been prosecuted for his criminal activity which has been the cause of considerable reputational damage and to the effectiveness of the police corps.

Today we know of Valletta’s cavorting with Yorgen Fenech. Valletta was not an ordinary simple cop languishing in some out of the way police station. He practically ran the Police Corps as Deputy Commissioner of Police and represented it on the governing board of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU).

The fact that this top policeman acted in such a manner is a clear indication of the forma mentis of the contemporary top brass at Floriana Police HQ. An Ombudsman report made public earlier this month on the investigation relative to the complaint of a Police Superintendent has dwelt at some length as to how police officials were selected: loyalty to the boss before loyalty to service was a basic requirement. With police officer selection being carried out on the basis of such a “qualification” it is no surprise that that the Police Corps was compromised for such a long time.

Uncle Silvio was the perfect investment for Yorgen Fenech. For a long time, Silvio Valletta was the key that facilitated access to Yorgen Fenech to all sorts of intelligence. A perfect example which illustrates what it means when we emphasise that the criminal world is many steps ahead of the police force.  In this specific case, for quite a time, the criminal world had the police force on a remote control, through Silvio Valletta.

It is difficult to comprehend how we could ever have an institutional failure of larger proportions.

This did not happen overnight. It is however central to the web of intrigue which developed over the years and leading up the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and beyond.

When Valletta’s conflict of interest as the then husband of a cabinet minister was spotlighted, the resistance to let got was enormous. It had to be a laborious court case which at the end of the day had him removed from coordinating the assassination investigation.

The final report of the public inquiry into Daphne’s assassination has now been published. It does not identify who signed Daphne’s death warrant: that was not its purpose. It does however examine how a state of impunity has developed over time such that her assassination was the direct consequence. It points out how business and politics became intertwined until you could not tell which was which.

The main takeaway from the inquiry report is that the state has been taken over by a Mafia mentality. The state has been hijacked by a cultural mindset that allows and encourages a Mafia attitude to take root and prosper.

Few of the proposals of the inquiry are new to the political debate. Most have been put forward over the years but they were shot down, diluted or had the breaks applied by different governments. Effective whistleblowing is still subject to political strings as has been evidenced over the years. Lobbying regulation is still talked of but not implemented.  The regulation of ethical behaviour has developed into a farce, notwithstanding the efforts of George Hyzler, the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life.

It is about time that the links between business and all branches of the state are transparent. Everything, without any exception, must be above board. This has been on the books for years, yet continuously ignored.

The Maltese state has been severely weakened by those who sought their fast-track enrichment at all costs. It is up to all of us, to stop them in their tracks. The soonest. The state has failed us. The Republic is sick.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 1 August 2021

Loyalty and integrity

“Without a fundamental commitment to the truth – especially in our public institutions and those who lead them – we are lost. As a legal principle, if people don’t tell the truth, our justice system cannot function and a society based on the rule of law begins to dissolve.”

This was written by James Comey in 2018 in his book A Higher Loyalty. Truth, Lies and Leadership.

Comey, was fired as FBI director by Donald Trump. At a bizarre dinner at the White House, Trump had demanded Comey’s personal loyalty, putting aside his duties as FBI Director. Trump pressured Comey to let go of Michael Flynn – his National Security Advisor for 22 days – then under investigation by the FBI. Comey reflects on Trump’s demands for personal loyalty and emphasises that there is a higher loyalty in all of our lives “………….. not to a person, not to a party not to a group. The higher loyalty is to lasting values, most important the truth.”

All this came to mind when reading through Ivan Martin’s encounter with Yorgen Fenech’s lawyer earlier this week. Unfortunately, some know the price of everything but they do not have an inkling on the value of anything.

When the chips are down, our true values emerge. If the real values have been carefully camouflaged, the impact when they emerge in such circumstances may be shocking. What has been carefully hidden from view, all of a sudden emerges in full public view.

Offering money to an investigative journalist to “remunerate him for his services” has switched on many red lights. The attempt at bribing the journalist is bad enough. It also raises the inevitable suspicions that bundles of €500 notes could also possibly be used to influence the judicial process. Only time will tell whether the possible becomes a probable.  Most of us would remember when, in 2002, the then Chief Justice together with another Judge, were bribed to reduce a prison sentence at appeal stage. The then accused who directed the bribery of the judiciary had insignificant wealth when compared to today’s accused.

We must be vigilant. It has happened and it can happen once more.

There is a common thread running through most of the bits of information forming the developing jigsaw puzzle linking all those mentioned in the Caruana Galizia assassination: money and loads of it. It is becoming clearer that Daphne Caruana Galizia’s investigation of the corrupt power station contracts is what led to her assassination. Tainted money was used to purchase access to influence and people that matter. The indications arising are too numerous to be ignored. This is nothing new, however, in the present scenario it is of the utmost significance.

Kudos to Ivan Martin who had the presence of mind not to accept a wad of €500 banknotes. His loyalty to his values as an investigative journalist was automatic. He did not pause to consider whether it was worth sticking his neck out. All of us should be proud of him.

Ivan’s integrity will be remembered for many years to come. His loyalty to his values will undoubtedly reinforce Maltese journalism in these testing times.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday : 8 November 2020

Leo Brincat: loyalties and lip service

When Leo Brincat gave evidence before the EU Parliamentary Committee on Budgetary Control last week he was, as anticipated, quizzed on his position regarding the Panama Papers.

Leo Brincat made himself crystal clear by stating that he would have submitted his resignation – or else suspended himself from office until such time as matters would have been clarified – had he been himself involved.

He volunteered the information that there had been a point at which he had considered resigning from Ministerial office due to the manner in which the Panama Papers scandal was handled in Malta. He added that, eventually, however, his considerations did not materialise and he did not resign as he had no desire to be a “hero for a day and end up in the (political) wilderness” thereafter.

Then came the fundamental issue: what about his vote against the motion of No Confidence in Minister Konrad Mizzi which was discussed by Malta’s House of Representatives? He emphasised that he could not vote in favour of the No Confidence motion as he was bound by the party’s Parliamentary Whip! It was a basic standard of local politics, based on the Westminister model, he emphasised.

At this point Leo Brincat made it clear to the EU Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee that he had made a very important and fundamental choice: he preferred loyalty to the party whip to loyalty to his principles: those same principles which he has been harping on for ages. When push came to shove, solidarity with Konrad Mizzi took priority over good governance. This is what irked a substantial number of MEPs and prompted them not to recommend the  approval of Leo Brincat as a member of the European Court of Auditors. Leo’s declaration means only one thing: that his statements on good governance are only lip service to which there is no real commitment.

From this point onwards, the issue became one of principle, stated Slovenian Green MEP Igor Šoltes, Vice Chairman of the EU Parliamentary Committee on Budgetary Control and rapporteur on the European Court of Auditors, when interviewed by the local media. How is it possible to expect appointment to the European Court of Auditors and simultaneously give a nod of approval to Konrad Mizzi? Leo’s reluctance to distance himself from Konrad’s misbehaviour was his undoing.

Leo Brincat was considered as being technically qualified for the post of member of the European Court of Auditors but his public behaviour relative to the Panama Papers left much to be desired: it rendered him ethically unqualified.

Most of the information on Malta and the Panama Papers scandal is freely available online. In this day and age, MEPs and their staff, like anyone else, can easily look up all the information they need in an instant. They do not need any prodding by David Casa, Roberta Metsola, Therese Commodini Cachia or anyone else!

The facts are damning enough. Leo Brincat, unfortunately, came across as an ambivalent person who speaks in favour of good governance yet through his vote simultaneously gives support to its negation. Konrad Mizzi’s behaviour,, sanctioned in parliament by the vote of Leo Brincat and his colleagues on the government benches, signifies that the Parliamentary Labour Party in Malta does not care about good governance. Leo Brincat’s failure is quite representative of the Labour Parliamentary group’s behaviour in Malta, as they have all contributed to this mess – the effects of which are yet to come.

In fairness, I must also point out that the press had, at a point in time picked up information about a rowdy Labour Party Parliamentary Group meeting during which Leo Brincat and a number of other MPs (including a number of Ministers ) had argued for Konrad Mizzi’s resignation or removal. It is indeed unfortunate that Joseph Muscat did not feel sufficiently pressured to remove Konrad Mizzi from Cabinet, as that meeting was only followed up with cosmetic changes in Konrad Mizzi’s Cabinet responsibilities.

It is useless to try and shift the blame onto Joseph Muscat and his cronies. While Joseph Muscat is ultimately responsible, this does not exonerate Leo Brincat and each individual member of the Labour Party Parliamentary group; each one of them too must shoulder responsibilities for  failure to act in removing Konrad Mizzi from public office.

At the end of the day there is just one lesson: loyalty to your conscience is not up for bartering.

Xi smajt dwar il-lealta’: għand tal-grocer

Sewwa  għamel Simon meta qal li  għand tal-grocer wieħed  għandu jitkellem u ma jibqax  ħalqu magħluq.

Li jsegwi hu parti minn diskussjoni  għand tal-grocer:

“Jekk tkun ħriġt għall-elezzjoni mal-partit għandek tibqa’ leali lejn il-partit. Intqal f’waħda mill-blogs.”

“U ngħid jiena, jekk il-Kap tal-Partit Lawrence Gonzi ma ħax passi meta l-affarijiet ma jkunux miexja sewwa, u jipprova jgħatti kollox, min mhux leali lejn il-partit?”

“X’jiswa’ li Lawrence Gonzi jippontifka li kulħadd għandu jerfa’ r-responsabbilta’ tiegħu biex imbagħad hu u ta’ madwaru ma jerfawhiex?”

“F’dawn iċ-ċirkustanzi iktar kien leali lejn il-partit Franco Debono minn Lawrence Gonzi.”

Lenti fuq ir-rewwixta : 2) Lealta’ tal-lastku

Meta nitkellmu dwar dak li għaddej bħalissa fil-Parlament id-diffikulta għall-pubbliku hi jekk il-Membru Parlamentari jaqbiżx il-linja immaġinarja tal- “lealta’”.

Lejn min għandhom ikunu leali l-Membri tal-Parlament?

Kif nifhimha jiena l-lealta’ tal-Membru Parlamentari dejjem hi lejn dak li jemmen. Li jkun konsistenti miegħu nnifsu u ma dak li tiddettalu l-kuxjenza tiegħu. Imbagħad wara tiġġudika l-istorja.

Hekk għamel il-Membru Parlamentari Għawdxi Kurunat Attard fl-ewwel seduta tal-Parlament fi Frar 1962 meta qasam il-Kamra u abbanduna l-Partit Demokratiku Nazzjonalista (ta’ Herbert Ganado)  u ngħaqad mal-PN ta’ Ġorġ Borg Olivier. Bil-vot tiegħu Borg Olivier fil-Gvern kellu 26 vot minn 50. Mingħajru kellu 25. Mingħajr il-vot ta’ Kurunat Attard  il-Gvern seta’ kellu diffikulta anke’ dwar il-kisba tal-Indipendenza ta’ Malta.  Wara li qasam il-Kamra Kurunat Attard baqa’ jitla’ fil-Parlament elezzjoni wara l-oħra sal-1987 meta ħadet postu fil-Parlament bintu Giovanna Debono. L-istorja tat il-ġudizzju tagħha.

Hekk ukoll għamel Alfred Baldacchino li qasam il-Kamra fl-1974 meta telaq il-PN u ngħaqad mal-Labour. Bil-vot tiegħu il-Gvern Laburista immexxi minn Dom Mintoff kellu 29 vot. Mingħajru kellu 28 minn 55 u ma setax jemenda l-Kostituzzjoni li kif kienet dakinnhar kienet teħtieġ 29 vot favur biex tkun emendata. (L-Ispeaker għalkemm ma kellux vot kien jgħodd bħala membru tal-Kamra. Għalhekk il-maġġoranza rikjesta għall-emendi Kostituzzjonali kienet ta’ nofs 56 li jigi 29. Illum l-Ispeaker m’għadux jingħadd!)

Ġorġ Borg Olivier  laqa’ lill-Kurunat Attard fil-PN. Ma qallux biex ikun leali lejn il-votant u jmur lura fil-Partit Demokratiku Nazzjonalista. Anke Dom Mintoff laqa’ lil Alfred Baldacchino: ma qallux ikun leali lejn il-votanti u jmur lura fil-PN!

Il-lealta’ kif definita fil-Parlament dejjem kienet waħda tal-lastku! Min iġebbed l-iżjed! Kif jaqbel fil-mument.

Il-lealta’ tal-Membru Parlamentari lejn dak li jemmen għandha twasslu biex isostni l-programm elettorali li hu intrabat miegħu waqt il-kampanja elettorali. Huwa dan l-għodda li bih il-Membru Parlamentari jgħarbel lill-Gvern fil-ħidma tiegħu fil-Parlament. Inkluż meta l-Kabinett innifsu jiddevja mill-programm elettorali jew ifittex li jagħmel affarijiet li jkunu inaccettabbli.

Il-Membru Parlamentari huwa obbligat li japoġġa l-programm politiku tal-Partit li f’ismu ġie elett imma għandu ukoll l-obbligu li ma jkunx servili. Il-lealta’ tiegħu m’hiex inkondizzjonata. Irid jimxi m’għajnejh miftuħin beraħ, b’leħen kritiku.

F’dan il-kuntest il-vot ta’ sfiduċja hu miżura estrema li jkun ġustifikat li jintuża biss jekk il-bibien jingħalqu u ma jħallux lill-Membru Parlamentari jagħmel xogħolu.

(darba oħra 3: Il-ġarra ġejja w sejra)