Anti-corruption body ‘a drain on public resources’
Commission should be disbanded, resources channeled to effective investigative bodies - report
An anti-corruption body continues to be a drain on public resources without any proof of effectiveness, according to a report by civil liberties groups.
The report suggests that immediate and effective steps are taken to dissolve the Permanent Commission Against Corruption (PCAC) and channel the resources assigned to it towards effective investigative bodies, like the Attorney General's office and the courts.
“Inexplicably, the PCAC continues to exist at the expense of Maltese taxpayers, without any evidence of effectiveness," the report says.
“The PCAC’s role is supposedly to receive, investigate, and assess allegations of corruption involving public officials, and if it finds evidence suggesting a criminal offence has been committed, to transmit the file to the Attorney General, who then decides whether to prosecute".
In February, Times of Malta reported how the PCAC lamented that allegations are being brought to it without the necessary proof to support further action.
“It would be better if people are aware that proof before the criminal courts need to be beyond reasonable doubt,” the commission said.
A 2019 report by Greco, a European anti-corruption body, noted how the commission had failed to produce concrete results after 30 years of existence. It branded the commission’s contribution to Malta’s anti-corruption efforts as “negligible”
Rule of law ‘backslide’
The report authored by civil liberties group Aditus and the Daphne Caruana Galizia foundation, detailed how proposals to criminalise abuse of office by public officials presented to Prime Minister Robert Abela in 2021 remain on the shelf.
These proposals were made following the public inquiry into Daphne Caruana Galizia’s 2017 assassination.
Last year, the report notes how Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi categorically declared that abuse of office by government ministers should be a criminal offence, but no such law exists to date.
The public inquiry also recommended the introduction of a law criminalising the obstruction of justice by government officials, as well as the introduction of unexplained wealth orders.
Both remain unaddressed years later, the report says.
The report further notes the absence of effective integrity measures for high-level politicians and public officials, including regulations on conflicts of interest and revolving doors.
It says persons directly involved in high-level corruption continue to be engaged or re-engaged at various levels of governmental roles, perpetuating a cycle of corruption.
As a result, the report says, corruption at all levels of government continues to be enabled by the above-mentioned factors, as well as by unchecked conflicts of interest, nepotism, and revolving doors.
Tina Urso, COO of the Daphne Caruana Galizia foundation, said the effects of the significant weakening of the rule of law in Malta continue to be felt.
"The country faces undue court delays, difficulties for the media to work effectively, and high levels of corruption and clientelism.
"The systemic failures documented by the public inquiry into Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination have still not been addressed. No journalist in Malta is truly protected until the recommendations are implemented.”