Blacklist fraudsters forever - Gonzi

People convicted of VAT fraud should be blacklisted forever, to send a clear message that such abuse was not tolerated, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.

"We're talking here about theft of funds paid by customers to be passed on to the government. It's not enough to hand down a punishment if those convicted know that after (they have paid their dues) it's as though they've been forgiven," he said during a Nationalist Party activity for young people.

Dr Gonzi was replying to a question by host Peppi Azzopardi regarding a statement made by Labour leader Joseph Muscat on Saturday.

Dr Muscat claimed during May 1 celebrations that a paint supplies company embroiled in last year's VAT fraud scandal had been awarded a €48,000 government contract shortly after its directors were convicted.

Only one paint company was involved in the scam, although Dr Muscat did not mention it by name - S&R Ħandaq, manufacturer of paints and varnishes.

Its director, Gregory Brincat, a former deputy mayor of Swieqi for the Nationalist Party, was arraigned with his brother along with another 20 businessmen who were charged over the VAT scam that rocked the government's main tax collecting department.

During the court case, the magistrate heard how the brothers used to file sales of stock without VAT. Last September, Mr Brincat pleaded guilty to bribery and fraud and was given an 18-month jail term suspended for four years and fined €700.

Yesterday, Dr Gonzi said he still had to look into the details of the case mentioned by Dr Muscat but pointed out that one had to keep in mind that police arraigned individuals not companies.

Throughout yesterday's debate, several young people asked Dr Gonzi about the politician's role.

"Some say that calling a politician good is like calling a thief honest," one young woman said as she asked the Prime Minister for a reaction.

He stressed that politics allowed people to change society for the better.

Mr Azzopardi pointed out that the corruption perception index for 2009, drawn up by Transparency International, ranked Malta in 45th place out of 180 countries.

The Prime Minister reacted saying that "just because people perceive corruption, it doesn't mean there is corruption".

He argued that Malta had structures in place to investigate corruption - a public process which made corruption more visible and therefore led some people to think there was more corruption around.

Turning to the controversial report by the Auditor General into the Delimara power station extension contract between Danish company BWSC and Enemalta Cooperation, Dr Gonzi reiterated that no evidence of corruption had been found.

Although the Auditor General's investigation found no "hard evidence" of corruption, it indicated a number of shortcomings.

Throughout the debate, students fired several questions at Dr Gonzi. Sudanese Zakaria Noor, who has been in Malta on refugee status for six years, said at times he felt discriminated against because of the colour of his skin.

"To those people who are racist, I say: please try and understand the situation we are in," he said in Maltese.

Gino Tanti, who introduced himself as gay, raised the issue of discrimination due to sexual orientation. He stressed that there was a need to educate people, from an early age, that families need not be made up of a man and a woman.

Replying to their concerns, Dr Gonzi stressed the importance of nurturing a culture of mutual respect towards others.