Minister confirms government's lack of will to fight corruption - PL
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech has confirmed the government's lack of will to fight corruption, the Labour Party said.
It said that Mr Fenech told The Times that he had known about the bribery claim over the superyacht facility since September but he had not told the police about the case because he decided there was no case.
The Prime Minister said in Parliament on Wednesday that an official in his secretariat had heard the claim from someone involved in the bids and had alerted the Finance Ministry. The ministry investigated but the probe yielded no results.
Based on the same allegation, which, he said, he had only just heard, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi on Wednesday ordered a police investigation.
This followed a parliamentary sitting on Monday in which Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat asked whether Dr Gonzi, or his office, was aware of allegations that someone had asked for money in return for favourable treatment with regard to any government tendering process.
Dr Muscat has since lashed out at the government for waiting eight months before going to the police, pointing a finger in particular at Dr Gonzi. But the Office of the Prime Minister said Dr Gonzi had only been told about the claim on Tuesday.
The PL said today that the minister's only investigation was a meeting with the people involved and he closed the case when they denied they requested money.
The minister admitted he did not know who made the allegations but he still opted to consider this as hearsay.
Such behaviour showed a lack of will by the government to fight corruption, the PL said. It insisted that the Prime Minister's defence that he did not know what was going on was not credible.
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lzammit
May 22nd 2010, 14:26
Mr Cilia, further to your comment earlier, do you want the up-coming generation to believe that the 100000 maltese (you mentioned) were sent on holiday in australia during those days by PN govt? If I remember correctly the labour government then had even created a ministry for emigration, hux?
lzammit
May 22nd 2010, 10:37
What interests me is that during the reigns of the PN the Maltese could live freely without any fear of getting beaten up. The behaviour of the PL supporters who were taken on a hired bus to the MEPA meeting recently only gives us a tiny glimpse of what could happen were the PL to regain power.
Carmel Cilia
May 22nd 2010, 07:54
I zammit why dont we remember also the 60s Eh what wrong with going back to those years when the P.N. in accordance with our prime ministers uncle was so democratic that he won two elections because of the imposition of mortal sin. By the way 100000 maltese were sent on holiday in australia during those days. Remember well remember it all. The P.N. in Government has always tried its best to ruin these islands for the interest of the few. Remember of course we will. Well I remember that with 10 O levels in 1965 I was not accepted to start a course in nursing , while ex colleagues with three O.levels were appointed temporary teachers. People like me would never forget.
L Fenech
May 22nd 2010, 08:50
Well said Carmel, unfortunately this is the Government? we have for the time being.
g.c.Forte
May 22nd 2010, 09:05
Just to remind.....................That after 10 years of Nationalists.governments in the 60`s, they left no " Boqxix " in the Maltese coffer. So, when the M.L.P.took over the government in 1971, the first struggle he had to face was, how to get money to pay the civil servants, because all they ( the P.N.) left was" dejn ", " dejn " u aktar " dejn ". And it seems that the story is going to repeat itself.
laurence schembri
May 22nd 2010, 07:00
Mr. Gouder, how do you account for the €4 billion deficit that we are lumbered with.
C.camilleri
May 22nd 2010, 06:21
@ I. Zammit
You are correct. From 1987 onwards we were living in a heaven on earth:)
Very selective memory my friend I must say.
Anthony Mizzi
May 21st 2010, 23:45
Confirmation of the NATIONAL perception not only of the government's lack of will to fight corruption, but to accept it as the norm, ignoring blatant conflicts of interest and making these acceptable as the Gonzipn camaraderie, resulting in the creation of the right conditions for irregularities and bad management where the chosen few are rewarded even if they are incompetent while the many suffer
Anthony Pace Gouder
May 21st 2010, 21:30
Hon. Minister T Fenech"s performance during this legislature is OUTSTANDING .
Besides handling the COUNTRY's FINANCE , which is critical , he has to shoulder the ENERGY PROBLEMS , also critical ,and apparently he has become an INVESTIGATOR and A JUDGE too !
Only in MALTA .
lzammit
May 21st 2010, 21:05
@ Tony Mangion – Of course we all hope that too, especially between 1971 and 1987!!
Tony Mangion
May 21st 2010, 18:36
The most important thing is that amnesia will not play it's part on the Maltese electorate during election time, whenever it may be.
Joe Mangion
May 21st 2010, 18:20
How come that the Minister himself decides, way back in September, that there was no case? Who gave him such powers? However I find all this to be truly bewildering. I cannot understand how the PM did not know about the case when it was an official in his Secretariat that had heard the claim from someone involved in the bids and had alerted the Finance Ministry. Someone somewhere is not saying the truth. Let's hope that amnesia does not play its part in this case as well.