The fight against corruption should not lie solely with the government but with everyone, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.
Dr Gonzi said the two draft laws, one dealing with protection to whistleblowers and the other making changes to the Permanent Commission Against Corruption, published last week were the fruit of the party’s promise to strengthen “good governance”.
“The fight against corruption must never be the government’s fight; it is everyone’s fight. It’s in everyone’s interest for things to be done well,” the Prime Minister told Nationalist Party supporters at the Fgura party club.
“When we say that truth shall prevail, it also means that, in the public and private sector, things should be done properly. The launch of these two draft laws send this message,” Dr Gonzi said.
The Prime Minister said he was disappointed with the Labour Party’s initial reaction to the draft laws but he hoped that when the Bills were to be debated in Parliament in the coming days the debate would be “constructive and proceed carefully” so that the country would have another instrument to fight corruption.
“With the government I lead there’s no playing around with corruption; we take a clear position,” Dr Gonzi said, adding that “we have to unite and uncover whatever is wrong in the country. It’s in our interest, even if there’s a price to pay.”
Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici stressed that the proposed Whistleblower Act was “a law for honest people not for people who made false allegations” and that it would provide a solid mechanism for employees who wanted to address shortcomings without risking retribution from their employers.
The new law, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said, would not only provide for material damages but would also address moral damages and provide a solid mechanism for honest employees to address shortcomings.
Corruption, the minister said, was only one facet the proposed law dealt with.
Speaking about the Permanent Commission Against Corruption, which will now be given a permanent investigator to strengthen its role, Dr Mifsud Bonnici pointed out the commission had been set up by a Nationalist government 22 years ago and had managed to transmit a message within the civil service that corrupt practices would not be tolerated by the government.
“Would a government that is corrupt introduce laws that fought irregularities?” he asked.
Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said the proposed laws would enable workers to be “referees” and still be protected by law.
He too levered on the PN’s legislation against corruption, insisting that “any law against corruption was enacted under the Nationalist Party”.
Speaking about the upcoming Budget, Dr Gonzi said job creation was at the heart of the government’s policies, adding that one could not forget the over 6,000 people still looking for work.
“Attracting work to the country is one of the most difficult things you can do given that over the past two-and a half years the world has been reeling under the effects of a global economic crisis.
“The biggest disappointment I had in the past year was the constant effort to hide this truth,” Dr Gonzi said of the PL’s attitude towards the effects of the crisis on Malta. “The worst thing you can do is escape reality.