Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s casual dismissal of any potential conflict of interest involving his chief of staff Keith Schembri and the $100 million investment by Crane Currency is shocking... but not particularly surprising. Bad governance has become the hallmark of this Labour government.

According to Dr Muscat, Mr Schembri “facilitated matters” and was the “catalyst” for the deal. But Mr Schembri has admitted a company in his Kasco Group may service Crane’s security printing machines if the latter procures Komori machinery, of which he is the agent in Malta. That’s apart from the legitimate question being asked about whether the firm will receive a commission should Komori be selected, despite his denial that he would supply the machines.

In the Code of Ethics governing public officers, contained in the Public Administration Act, a conflict of interest is defined as a situation “in which a public employee has a private or personal interest sufficient to influence or appear to influence the objective exercise of his or her official duties”.

How the Prime Minister could “totally disagree” that his chief of staff has a conflict of interest, as defined here, is beyond belief. The question raised by other quarters of whether Mr Schembri falls under these legal provisions, owing to his position as a person of trust, is academic. At the very least, the spirit of this law has been breached and an ethical principle broken.

Now on the face of it, the Crane investment is to be welcomed. It is good for the economy and good for jobs – especially for De La Rue employees who might soon be out of one. The deal is a win-win situation – but it is unacceptable that one of the winners should be Mr Schembri. His role in it prompts too many questions and further damages trust in this administration following the Panama Papers debacle, in which the chief of staff himself was so deeply involved.

A request by this newspaper for information on the incentives offered to Crane was turned down, with commercial interests being cited. How can taxpayers be assured the incentives do not go beyond what is normally offered in agreements of this nature? How can the public be sure the decisions taken were not also intended to benefit Mr Schembri’s business? How many other decisions has he influenced where he stood to make personal gain?

And how can personnel at all levels in government service abide by the rule that they must avoid conflicts of interest when their boss is turning a blind eye to his own chief of staff’s untenable position?

This is a recipe for anarchy. It perpetuates the culture of anything goes. And it inevitably raises suspicions of corruption – especially in the wake of the discovery of Mr Schembri’s secret Panama company. Even if squeaky clean, Mr Schembri, with his business interests, just has no place occupying his government role.

Dr Muscat is either taking us all for fools or knows very well that we can see the folly in his ways but carries on regardless complacent with his 37,000 vote majority.

This is but the latest in a long list of black stains on Labour’s record of governance, including the Gaffarena and Cafe Premier scandals, government jobs for backbench Labour MPs, police inaction over corruption allegations and the government’s refusal to publish major agreements on national projects.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna’s homily on Independence Day boomed out a warning about governance “based on spin, on obscure dealings and on a constant reticence to allow public scrutiny, irrespective of the myriad laws and the solemn promises…” The State is sick, he added, “when the common good is sacrificed to the selfish interests of the few, to a pseudo-ethos based on the relentless quest for material gain at all costs…”

Is Dr Muscat listening?

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