Another pertinent point, raised by a reader
Published:
November 3, 2013 at 6:35pm
Posted by Osservatore:
It is only a very small step away from the minister being in a position to issue passports to third parties in full secrecy, bypassing even the concessionaire.
With a well placed Labour lackey at Identity Malta (Joe Vulgar Bonnici) it may even be possible for passports to be issued and the Euro 650,000 pocketed and nobody would be any wiser.
A veritable den of thieves and a system that is riddled with opportunity for those who are able and willing to abuse it.
7 Comments Comment
Leave a Comment
Actually, during the presentation held on the 17th October, 2013 it was clearly said that the Minister has discretion in the matter in “grey area” cases.
Citizenship also gives a right to vote. Presently, the voting documents have the photo used in the identity card. If these people buying citizenship do not even need to set foot here, what shall be used on their voting document? A photo submitted by Henley or maybe a photo chosen by the chairman of identity Malta?
This system of secrecy is going to lead to many abuses in the electoral register.
[Daphne – Maltese citizenship does not give you the automatic right to vote in Malta. That right comes from citizenship + other qualifiers. There are thousands of Maltese citizens in Australia. They’re not on the electoral roll in Malta. ]
This is a very good point indeed.
Unless the whole process is genuinely transparent, the possibility of fraud is almost guaranteed.
If everything is above board and made public then there can be a very valid argument for this sort of scheme.
If not, it can only be described as a “haxja magna”.
How long will it be before passports are issued to fictitious persons for money derived from undisclosed sources?
And how long will it be before the Labour government signs another MOU with the China communists (or any similar regime) under which China donates the Labour government an annual sum of, say, euro 60 million, in return for:
1. The Labour government being subservient to China, acting as its stooge in the European Union, giving it access to the EU institutions.
2. The Labour government issuing the equivalent in passports to individuals, whether Chinese or otherwise (they can even be China’s friends in Africa).
It is not only the Maltese passports that are being sold in this scam. It is the whole of Malta, the Maltese, our historic achievements and our freedoms that are being sold here.
They will rush the bill through.
The EU will only address the matter post brace when it should be post haste.
To the Nationalist Party: An EU official should be invited to intervene on the matter, urgently, this week and before the bill is passed.
By the time the EU is tackling this issue, Joseph will get round to exposing the reason for his EU arrogance.
If the targeted applicants have the usual large families, worst case scenario is that all they need are approximately 2000 large families for a fresh 25,000 lead that would instantly become a new multiplier element.
The conditions, in practice, would be more likely to bear upon the quantity on the application form rather than the quality.
On an unrelated issue:
During the divorce referendum we saw the Church setting up a full scale campaign against the enactment of such legislation. It marshalled resources from everywhere and anywhere. There were discussions, protests, blog entries, articles, TV programmes, billboards, and so on. We all remember the “Kristu IVA, Divorzju LE” campaign.
In contrast, the civil union bill was met with little opposition and, correct me if I am wrong, no media campaign.
Why?
After all, the PN was always the one party which defended the rights of the Church. The MLP always bullied the Church and attempted to gain its submission in various areas.
Why is the Church keeping a low profile now that the MLP is in power? Is this but on sign that the levels of democratic governance in Malta are plummeting?
Further to my comment above and your reply, today’s article in the Malta Independent seems to confirm my fear that this is actually an exercise to buy a certain number of votes but get the voters to pay for that right.
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-11-13/news/secret-citizens-eligible-to-vote-3173777415/