“Slipping 10 places in an international corruption-perception index is not an indicator of good governance” – Malta Employers Association president

Arthur Muscat, who is standing down as president of the Malta Employers Association, said yesterday in his valedictory speech to the association’s annual general meeting that Malta’s 10-place descent in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, which was published a few weeks ago, “is not an indicator of good governance”.

The members of the Malta Employers Association tend also to be members of the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, and Mr Muscat said he thinks it “correct and called for to endorse the preoccupation expressed by the President of the Chamber on the critical issue of good governance”.  The president of the Chamber of Commerce spoke about this matter two days ago.

Mr Muscat continued: “A strongly perceived regression in administrative transparency does not encourage local and foreign investment and the same applies to regulatory transparency, which is such an important requisite for the health of the high-employment financial sector. Irrespective of investment benefits, unorthodox and outside-the-norm sale of public property does not contribute to business confidence. The integrity of institutions and established procedures needs to be nurtured and sustained.” 

Arthur Muscat