It is not enough for the health minister to say that an internal investigation has shown that there is no discrimination on the basis of political beliefs in the distribution of medicine products.

The best way to go about dealing with the allegations made is to set up an independent inquiry. Only in this way will the health ministry be able to say that it is acting in line with its commitment to ensure that the distribution of medicine, under the Pharmacy-of-Your-Choice arrangements, is done in a fair, transparent and accountable manner.

Reports that people close to the Labour Party are getting their hands on medicine in short supply at the pharmacy of their choice have been circulating for some time. As if this, and the shortage of medicine supplied under the scheme, were not enough, there are now claims that medicines are also being distributed to favoured people even from Labour Party clubs.

If the health ministry really wants to put an end to these reports, it definitely needs to go beyond simply carrying out an internal investigation.

The Chamber of Pharmacists noted: “If medicines are being distributed as has been alleged, through village clubs, it is of grave concern and to the detriment of public health. It is also in serious breach of the laws of Malta (the Medicines Act).” It feels the Medicines Authority, the Licensing Authority and those that are vested with the powers at law should take “immediate and necessary steps to investigate and stop this alleged abuse”.

These are problems pharmacists can certainly do without and it is the responsibility of the health authorities to ensure that, as the health ministry said, the system is run in a fair and transparent manner. However, since people always somehow manage to find loopholes in any new system or arrangements that are made, it is up to the authorities to be constantly on the alert for abuse.

The minister responsible for health, Konrad Mizzi, who is also responsible for energy, has declared that he is not happy with the present state of the Pharmacy-of-Your-Choice scheme, adding that efforts are being made to improve the situation.

Labour in government has already had more than enough time to get to grips with the situation. They are taking far too long to get the job done.

The many cases of abuse and fraud uncovered in recent years suggest a deterioration in uprightness and moral values. The conviction of judges over bribery charges had shocked the nation but there have also been other serious cases, such as the fraud committed some years ago at the VAT department and, more recently, the string of cases over the tampering of smart electricity meters.

What is most striking, however, is that, other than the great political capital invariably made each time a fraud occurs, the country does not appear to be sufficiently cross-examining itself, as it were, to see why so many people are resorting to fraud. It is up to the police and the judicial institutions to make it clear, through their action and judgments, that fraud does not pay, which is why the amnesty given to those who bribed Enemalta people to tamper with the electricity meters was so morally wrong.

In the case involving the distribution of medicine, the health ministry was correct in carrying out the internal investigation, however, it now needs to move to the next step and set up an independent inquiry.

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