Malta: the perception of corruption is getting worse
Published:
December 21, 2014 at 12:08pm
My column in The Malta Independent today is about the fact that Malta has fallen two percentage points in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index over the last two years.
This means that Labour, which was elected to government partly on the strength of its pledge to eradicate corruption, is perceived to have done the opposite.
The perception now is of more corruption than there was two years ago.
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http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-12-21/blogs-opinions/Malta-the-perception-of-corruption-is-getting-worse-6736127691
Il- kbir ghadu gej.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20141221/local/Foundation-for-Buttigieg.549050
Who are the sponsors of this Foundation? Malta Freeport?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130831/local/Farrugia-defends-appointment-as-CEO.484190
But it looks like that is what the electorate wants : http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-12-21/local-news/iSurvey-Muscat-stronger-despite-recent-controversies-6736127687 : a corruptible government
I am not surprised. This country has still a long way to go. In 1987 the PN only won with a majority of four thousand votes and this after all that violence and the murder of Raymond Caruana.
Muscat managed to turn the Mallia incident on its head when he made the minister resign. He saved face with those who are hoodwinked or too lazy to bother with some serious reasoning.
Mallia never resigned and Muscat looked weak when he did not sack him until the very last minute, literally.
Salvu what do you expect when 94.0% were PL voters?
It also shows that quite a few PL supporters do not trust Joseph Muscat.
Q.E.D.
The majority of the electorate just want to be part of the corruptibles. The people who perceived the PL as being a corruptible government are just confirming their beliefs.
It’s just perception. Just how 36,000 more people perceived MLP to be better than PN, and now hopefully some of these 36000 perceive the MLP to be more corrupt then PN ever were and will soon perceive PN to be better than MLP again
But it is only perception, just like the traffic jams.
This is good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcvjoWOwnn4
And the Permanent Commission against Corruption [PCAC] is still not constituted according to law after the untimely death of Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna. To be sure, the PACA was never particularly active or useful, apart from its initial years when it was chaired by the late Mr Justice Victor Borg Costanzi. As a former prosecutor, he had managed to interpret the Commission’s remit to maximum effect.
Unfortunately such things as conflict of interest, the inappropriate use of public funds, political nepotism in appointments to posts paid out of public funds, etc. are, in reality, far out of its remit. But the single most serious problem lies in its very set-up and lack of resources. The Commission is in effect a toothless tiger.
The EU Commission, in its EU Anti Corruption Report published earlier this year (Com (2014) 28 Final), notes in the annex on Malta:
“The PCAC’s institutional setup has been criticised. Apart from being under-resourced (with a budget of EUR 84 000), the PCAC cannot appoint specialists in its own capacity during investigations but must ask the Prime Minister to do so. A debate about possible reforms to strengthen its role in fighting corruption has been ongoing for years. In 2007, GRECO [Group of States Against Corruption of the Council of Europe] had already noted that ‘almost five years after the adoption of the [First] Evaluation Report, no decision to further empower the PCAC has been taken.’”
Corruption? What corruption?
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-12-21/local-news/MHRA-President-Matthew-Pace-resigns-following-tampered-smart-meter-allegations-6736127705
Malta has slipped to 35th place in the Forbes list on the Best Countries for Business, from 30th place last year.
That is in a very small box, on The Sunday Times today.
Ehem, the ones that were creating the corruption under Gonzi are now in government. Will it help?
Ah, but it’s the perception of the perception that’s getting worse I’m sure.
”It preoccupies me that these leaks took place. It worries me because the public is not going to feel comfortable reporting certain information…” Commissioner Cassar speaking about the Sheehan shooting audio leak.
The more I read this in different newpaper articles the more I wonder whether this is what people really fear. I for certain know that that is not my major concern arising from the leak.
Rather, I fear that, if I were to be a victim I would wonder who the police would choose to protect. Would they protect me or the person committing the crime against me. Would they move or remove evidence, alter statements, or rush to influence public opinion as to his actions if he/she were a police officer or a friend of a police officer?
I would certainly not be overtly worried if the details of the crime would become public, although this is no desirable. But what the leak most highlighted were not details which needed to be hidden, but the crime by omission and commission of manipulating the parameters of the crime by those duty bound to prevent such maneuvering.
One is given to understand that some of the very people who saw nothing wrong with doing just that are back on the job.
Please do not insult us Mr. Commissioner.
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-12-22/local-news/Whistleblowers-Act-not-arbitrary-go-ahead-to-leak-information-Justice-Minister-6736127741
Perception my foot!
Saturday, December 27, 2014 TOM
”Adviser on wild bird law revision had conviction for ‘callers’
No risk of offenders’ licences being lost”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20141227/local/Adviser-on-wild-bird-law-revision-had-conviction-for-callers-.549645
The same police sergeant involved in both cases:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120507/local/police-chief-mulls-action-for-beating-charge-error.418673
Updated – Police sergeant explains presence in gentleman’s club, denies wrongdoing – had previous court case
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20141228/local/updated-police-sergeant-explains-presence-in-gentlemans-club-denies-wrongdoing-had-previous-court-case.549752
And lo and behold, the same name again and still allowed to wear the uniform to ‘serve and protect’!
Disciplinary action will be taken against a police sergeant over his behaviour when dealing with a minor incident at McDonald’s outlet in St Julian’s.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120813/local/Police-take-action-against-sergeant.432623
Of course the mention of the Red Bull drinking at the Escobar while on duty does add a dash of irony to the matter.
”“When we got to Escobar, the owner offered us a drink. I had a Red Bull and my constables had a soft drink and we spent time speaking to him. While we were at the bar, this student who was there with a friend took pictures of us.”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120507/local/police-chief-mulls-action-for-beating-charge-error.418673
Roderick Galdes, the transparency champion and loophole expert and his contribution to our ‘perception’:
”When the Labour Party was in Opposition it criticised Petra Caruana Dingli’s appointment as Mepa’s Environment Protection Director in 2011 without a call for applications.
The statement was signed by Mr Galdes himself, then a member of the Mepa board, who had said he voted against the appointment because it lacked transparency.
Yet soon after he took on the role of Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretary he recruited Mr Golovkin in the same way.
In his latest report, Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino threw
the spotlight on the vague definition of “position of trust”, saying such appointments should be restricted to ensure fairness, nondiscrimination and transparency.
Mr Galdes also appointed Albert Pace as his advisor – a licensed trapper and hunter who was convicted for using illegal electronic bird lures in 2009. Times of Malta yesterday revealed that one of his first tasks was to advise on the revision of the conservation of wild bird regulations that resulted in the decriminalisation of the use of such callers.
Until recently, Mr Pace’s desk at the ministry was in the same
office of the WBRU, although political appointees should not
share the same office as public employees. He sat next to brothers Joseph Lia and Richard Lia, employed in the same unit, which goes against the recommendations of the public service management code. It states: “It is the practice to
avoid having in the same unit members of the same family”.
Both brothers have a history with the hunting lobby. Joseph Lia was a council member for the hunters’ federation when he was recruited – he resigned only after his appointment.
His brother Richard was formerly a nurse at Mount Carmel
hospital and has no credentials in bird conservation.”
Print edition of The Sunday Times of Malta dated 28.12.14 (Pg. 12)