Government calls for transparency in party funding

The government will present a motion in Parliament tomorrow to set up a Parliamentary commission tasked with drawing up a system that regulates party funding and makes it more transparent.

Following a Cabinet decision two weeks ago, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi wrote to Labour leader Alfred Sant yesterday informing him of plans to present the motion.

"The government believes the time has come to ensure greater transparency in the financing of political parties," the letter reads.

"We believe it would be wise if this step is taken after wide discussion which involves both us, who work within political parties, and society at large."

The commission, made up of a chairman and four members - two to be appointed by the government and two by the Opposition - will be asked to make recommendations on the issue in a report, on similar lines to the Galdes Commission which in 1995 had already made proposals to this effect.

The 1995 commission had proposed a mix of state and private funding, along with recommendations for parties to cap donations at Lm10,000 and declare every individual contribution above Lm5,000.

Labour had agreed to those proposals; but the PN objected, raising the bar for declared donations to Lm10,000 and capping them at Lm20,000. AD, in contrast, had proposed to reduce both to Lm500 and Lm1,000 respectively.

The issue is now on the agenda again with an election in the air, following the controversy surrounding PN general secretary Joe Saliba's friendship with developer Zaren Vassallo and accusations by Dr Gonzi that Labour is failing to publish its companies' accounts, as required by law.

Yesterday, Dr Gonzi made direct reference to the election at a meeting of the party's executive committee at Dar il-Lunzjata in Rabat, though the main theme was the forthcoming Budget.

Stressing the importance of the Budget and the changeover to the euro on January 1, Dr Gonzi said the government is now winding down an administration that had seen through the implementation of its stated goal to ensure that Malta joined the EU, while preparing the island to reap the benefits of membership in the years ahead.