I read Finance Minister Edward Scicluna’s interview with incredulity, (‘For the rule of law, let the institutions finish the job’, The Sunday Times of Malta, March 25). Having graciously accepted the interviewer’s positive remarks about the economy, Prof. Scicluna goes on to mention the sectors that are driving our economy, namely financial services, iGaming and tourism.
These are exactly the economic sectors that were laid out by the previous Nationalist governments. What clearly stands out in Prof. Scicluna’s reply is that he does not mention the selling of passports or the unbridled property speculation that is going on. Is he ashamed of these? After all, they were the brainchild of the government that he forms part of.
On corruption, Prof. Scicluna says this has always been with us, and that he believes there is no more corruption than before. Well, I have news for him. In an EU-wide survey carried out in December of last year, an astonishing 84 per cent of business people said that corruption is rife in Malta, and over 70 per cent said they do not take part in government tenders because they know it is already a done deal, and taking part is a waste of time. And a majority felt that corruption was not being tackled with impartiality.
The most incredible part of interview was when Prof. Scicluna said he has full faith in the institutions and he wants to strengthen them and make them more transparent. Well, he and the government he forms part of are doing exactly the opposite.
You do not strengthen institutions by words but by actions. You do not stuff public institutions with party members who are only there to do the government’s bidding. You do not strengthen institutions by failing to give whistleblower status to someone who may have evidence of corrupt and money-laundering practices. And you ensure that reports prepared by your financial watchdogs are acted upon, not buried.
I do not expect anything better from Joseph Muscat. The description given of him by the BBC interviewer James Sweeney of being the artful dodger of Europe and the passport-seller-in-chief was truly apt.
However, one did expect better from Edward Scicluna. What a letdown to the country that after five years in government one can conclude that Prof. Scicluna is no better than Dr Muscat.