The government says it is not interested in the small fry because it is the spider spinning the web of corruption it wants to catch. Well done, we should say, had it not also decided at the same time to absolve those who bribed public officers to pay just a fifth of their dues to State energy agency Enemalta.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat must decide whether he really wants to fight corruption or simply dig up the muck to throw at the party in opposition. What his government is telling those who bribed public officers is: pay a fine, settle all bills, tell us who was involved and you can go free. At the same time, it says the police are free to carry out their investigations and, presumably, prosecutions.

What has developed is another episode in the sad saga of a public corporation that has already had more than its fair share of mismanagement and scandals.

In dealing with this latest hot issue at Enemalta, the government would do well to bear in mind the findings and comments of the latest EU Anti-Corruption Report.

The study found that 83 per cent of respondents consider corruption to be a widespread problem in Malta (EU average 76 per cent) and 29 per cent said it affects their daily lives (EU average 26 per cent). According to the majority, corruption is not only a reality but is also on the increase.

Speaking in general terms, that is EU-wide, the report noted that the declared intentions of the authorities “are still too distant from concrete results and genuine political will to eradicate corruption often appears to be missing”.

Defining corruption in a broad sense as any “abuse of power for private gain”, the report notes that, in extreme cases, corruption undermines the trust ofcitizens in democratic institutions and processes, adding that high-profile scandals associated with corruption, misuse of public funds or unethical behaviour by politicians contributed to public discontent and mistrust of the political system.

If Dr Muscat genuinely wants to fight corruption, that should be more than adequate to make him change his mind about the ‘amnesty’ to those who bribed Enemalta officials. The government – and the Attorney General – should stop trying to argue that what such consumers did is unlikely to qualify as bribery at law.

The Criminal Code is clear: “Any public officer or servant who, in connection with his office or employment, requests, receives or accepts for himself or for any other person, any reward or promise or offer of any reward in money or other valuable consideration or of any other advantage to which he is not entitled, shall, on conviction, be liable to punishment...”

It further lays down that “the person who bribes the public officer or servant or the member of the House of Representatives, or the person to whom any of the said articles applies in accordance with any provision under this Code or under any other law, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be an accomplice”.

A public officer is defined as including “not only the constituted authorities, civil and military, but also all such persons as are lawfully appointed to administer any part of the executive power of the government, or to perform any other public service imposed by law, whether it be judicial, administrative or mixed”.

Failing to act in line with the above does not only weaken the fight against corruption but is also a sure way of making crime pay.

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