Those who were present at the launch of the Eddie Fenech Adami’s autobiography must have witnessed how shocked he still is by the corruption case of the former chief justice and another judge even though considerable time has elapsed.
I had met Fenech Adami just a few days after the judges were arraigned in court. I had never seen him so upset and disappointed, for he could not fathom that such a thing could happen and in such a cheap way to boot, that is, a judge haggling with a criminal about his bribe.
The rest of the country was similarly shocked. It was also shaken more recently when another judge was accused of corruption.
The oil scandal so much publicised before the election also allegedly involving high officials in Enemalta rocked, once more, the trust that people should have in institutions.
The corruption of the great and the powerful is contemptible but similarly so is the corrupt behaviour of those described as ‘iż-żgħir’ for reasons of political expediency. In my commentary of almost two years ago to the day, I had written about corruption in Malta and I had posed this question: Could it be that some people prefer to believe that many others around them are corrupt so that they will find it easier to be corrupt themselves?
I meant to say the belief that others, especially those higher up, are also corrupt eases one’s conscience when one indulges in acts of corruption.
Probably the over 1,000, and still counting, people and companies who paid good money to corrupt Enemalta employees are part of the multitude who believe they can be corrupt because others are corrupt. They do not want to waste the chance of putting their fingers in the pie since others, they prefer to believe, are hacking away big chunks.
The actions of the consumers who paid Enemalta officials for a tampered meter is an act of corruption, pure (perhaps, impure would be a better word!) and simple. Anyone who believes this is not, probably also believes that little green men live on Mars!
The Enemalta officials, duty bound to ensure that no such thing occurs, lined their pockets by seeing to it that such things do in fact take place. Probably they also believed that corruption makes the world go round.
Now it transpired that some kind soul within Enemalta saw it fit to keep in a safe place files of circa 700 people and companies who defrauded the Maltese people of €2 million worth of electricity.
Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi, who should be congratulated for unearthing both scandals, said that Enemalta had then initiated investigations about these cases, and, as should always happen in such cases, the police were called in. Meanwhile, according to established procedure, the electricity meters of those involved were replaced. Then, surprise, surprise, nothing happened.
Was the top management of Enemalta in hibernation during the period? Once they had authorised the investigations and called in the police why did they not see to it that such investigations were brought to their rightful conclusion? Will they be held accountable?
One augurs that investigations into both scandals will identify all perpetrators and collaborators while making them shoulder any administrative, political or criminal responsibilities that they may have. It is our right to insist that the authorities get to the bottom of both scandals and then publicise the results. This is more important than scoring political points.
This is not the first case of corruption of public officials by a mass of common citizens, among them those affably described as ‘iż-żgħir’.
In 2007, another scandal was discovered. Five hundred people had each paid €500 to two Malta Maritime Authority officials to be awarded a maritime licence without having to go through the trouble of sitting for a three-week course. All 500 were charged with corruption, and most – iż-żgħir included – were convicted and sentenced to a one-year jail term suspended for two years.
That’s how it should be; but unfortunately this is not how it is going to be in the case of the corrupters of the Enemalta officials who tampered with the smart meters. They are to be let off with a slap on the wrist.
Other cases of corruption, albeit of a more subtle nature, are committed by a mass of common citizens at election times. Is it not a corrupt act to use one’s vote and those of one’s family to blackmail politicians for a ‘favour’ that one does not have a right to, particularly when the granting of that favour entails the commission of an injustice to another person?
Perhaps we should not expect any better from a republic that is gladly prostituting even its citizenship
I was told of someone – undoubtedly one out of many – who in the final days before the election used her and her family members’ votes to exert pressure for a promotion in the health sector for which she was manifestly not qualified to get. The politician who resisted them lost all their votes, but he kept his integrity intact. Some people may consider this as a very small mercy, but in the objective realm, this is considered to be an honourable action.
The fight against corruption is not served by the usual bipartisan crossfire. The corrupt should not be considered as either blue or red or purple. The corrupt should be considered and treated for what they are: corrupt. This, quite naturally, does not exclude the taking of political responsibility when that is the case.
A bipartisan attack against corruption is needed as it seems that corruption is not reserved to some elite or particular sector of society. It looks more like a national malaise. Its intricate web is weaved in the national fabric.
Our Constitution states that Malta is a republic based on work. Such unsavoury acts make one wonder whether it should state that ours is a republic based on corruption. It is a republic rapidly moving towards the glorification of a culture that fixes a price on everything and a value on nothing. Perhaps we should not expect any better from a republic that is gladly prostituting even its citizenship.
joseph.borg@um.edu.mt