Nationalist MP Franco Debono insisted today that his insistence about the need to immediately separate the ministerial portfolios of justice and home affairs were not about himself, but about the reforms that the country urgently needed.

In comments to timesofmalta.com he said:

"I have been repeatedly advised by my doctors that this is having serious repercussions on my health but I don't care. I will go ahead and do what is right for my country come what may. Both myself and family members have had personal health problems in the last months."

He recalled that the prime minister had publically announced he would split the ministry just before the Budget vote on that ministry.

"Just before the Budget vote I had expressed my reluctance to Dr Gonzi about voting for the Budget votes of the Ministry of Justice because of my disagreement over the way things were going in that ministry.

"This ministry has the responsibility of the maintenance of basic public order and rule of law which includes the law courts, the police, the prisons and the Attorney General.

"I had been speaking about the need for justice reforms since 2008, and in 2009 I even had to abstain from a vote in parliament in order to push the government to enforce the right to legal assistance.

"Last July I made it clear something concrete had to be done since things were degenerating. Everyone agrees that huge reforms are needed and everyone agrees that justice and home affairs should never be together. So why wasn't this done four years ago? We are four years late and running out of time. The issues I am speaking about today, I have been bringing up for the past four years, especially in Parliament."

"Why does it take so much sacrifice for reason to prevail?"

Malta, Dr Debono said, also needed constitutional reforms but these would be difficult to implement in the remaining time of the legislature.

"Dr Gonzi promised me a month ago that the portfolios would be separated. I asked him when that would happen and he said 'before the end of the year', Dr Debono said.

He said that, along with others, he had stressed the need for urgency, since the country would be in election mode next year, with local elections in March and the general election approaching.

One must also keep in mind that, unfortunately, the minister was away for some months due to illness.

Dr Debono said that with the year drawing to a close, he had expected the separation of the ministries to take place this week, as promised, but Dr Gonzi had told him it might happen at about the time Parliament reconvened (in mid-January) or a bit later.

"I told him I am not the kind of person to be taken for a ride, and if the split is not done without delay, and as promised, then it could even be useless and a waste of time, considering the remaining time of this legislature."

Asked whether he wanted to be appointed to the Justice Ministry, Dr Debono insisted that this was not about him, but about the reforms the country needed in the justice system.

"This is not about what I wish, it is about what the country needs and everyone agrees that this sector needs huge reforms. But I do not think I should lose my health to get what is obvious to everyone to be done."

"It is the prime minister who needs help in that sector and not the other way around, but having gone through all this, frankly, I do not know whether now I can give that assistance," Dr Debono, a prominent criminal lawyer said.

He had great doubts at this point in time whether he should accept to help if asked, he said.

Dr Debono also insisted that no one should continue to try to delay reform, by citing the financial crisis. That had nothing to do with justice.

"On the other hand it is important for ministers to keep their portfolios in good shape so that the Prime Minister can focus on that issue."

He said he was extremely disappointed that his initiatives were being ignored.

"At the beginning of the year I presented the government with a first draft of a party financing bill. It was crude, but it was a start," Dr Debono said.

"The government watered it down so much, it became unacceptable to me. Even a Council of Europe body to which the government-amended version was shown, expressed its disagreement as I had warned"

Dr Debono said he then set about drawing an amended version himself. "I gave them the new draft, which obviously would need some fine-tuning but again, nothing has happened," Dr Debono said. 'I mean if the PN after 25 years in government is not eager to have this law in place it's up to them after all. I did my part."

"It is this frustration, this tension, which has been undermining my health, the 37-year-old said, pointing out that he is currently sick in bed.

OPM STATEMENT

In a statement issued this evening in reply to media questions, the Office of the Prime Minister said that during an interview on December 1 Dr Gonzi had said that Dr Debono's request to divide the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry was a valid one which should be considered and discussed to see which direction should be adopted.