In his article entitled ‘PN loan scheme questions’ (March 31) Andrew Borg Cardona fervently defends the Nationalist Party’s dubious ċedoli act, this being nothing but a suspicious loan scheme.
It is evident that the scheme’s main aim is to evade the cardinal principles governing party financing legislation. For the past 25 years we have had nothing but empty talk about the introduction of this law. This government has put words into action and a new law has been in place as of this year.
The party financing law decrees that a political party registers donations. The higher the value of a donation, the greater the need for the donor’s name to be made public. Any donation exceeding €7,000 must be publicised online every year, together with the donor’s name. The law also decrees that no donation exceeding €25,000 may be received from any one source per year. The Electoral Commission serves as a watchdog to see that these principles are adhered to.
The Nationalist Party has come up with a €10,000 loan scheme at four per cent interest, repayable after 10 years. Strictly speaking, this classifies as a loan and not a donation, conveniently evading all the requirements stipulated by the law on party financing.
There will be no publishing of donors’ names for the sake of transparency. Nor will there bea reliable regulator ensuring order. There will be no limits to the amount of money that may be donated, for one may very well donate €100,000 in packets of €10,000.
A mind that reasons concludes that the Nationalist Party’s scheme is a sham
All this would be bad enough were we to speak of an actual loan. Yet is this really about loans? The Nationalist Party has already stated that loans will not be guaranteed.
Therefore, no hypothec will be given by the PN in favour of the person giving the loan. Not to mention that 10 years in the granting of unsecured loans is highly unusual.
We know that the Nationalist Party has found it difficult to effect its workers’ wages and it has had to resort to selling its village clubs.
We now have an entity that is being refused financing facilities from commercial banks and is resorting to beg from the public. It takes a long stretch of the imagination to believe that loans will be paid back in a decade.
There has been no mention of due diligence being carried out on those granting loans. For all we know, this scheme may very well bypass anti money-laundering requirements. Genuine PN supporters may have their lifetime earnings stripped off them.
A mind that reasons concludes that the Nationalist Party’s scheme is a sham. It is a scheme that shuns transparency and is shrouded in secrecy. It is a matter of donations in disguise.
The opposition has unashamedly found ways in which to evade the party financing law, helping one comprehend why it was never put into practice in the first place.
Borg Cardona may be proud of his different PN DNA. He should not be proud of a scheme that reeks of bad governance and dishonesty.
Charlon Gouder is a lawyer.