The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering evaluation body has given positive feedback on reforms introduced by the government in recent months.
This news is crucially essential for Malta’s prospects of retaining present direct foreign investment and attracting new entrepreneurs. But the damage caused to the island’s reputation in the last few years as a result of government-supported corruption and abuse of power is too extensive to rely solely on this Moneyval positive development.
To repair Malta’s tarnished image, more work needs to be done to dismantle the web of corrupt practices, some of which still linger in its governance system.
It is encouraging that Prime Minister Robert Abela acknowledged this sobering reality when he argued that “This is not the time for Euphoria. We do not want to undo the hard work that has been done.”
Opposition leader Bernard Grech was equally realistic when he said: “The faster we break from this (tarnished) image, the better but we cannot forget why we got to this point”.
Business leaders, trade unionists and a good part of civil society have good reason to fret about the consequences of Malta’s damaged reputation. They rightly expect that the damage repair must go beyond the forthcoming decision by Moneyval that will, hopefully, prevent Malta from being grey-listed.
There seems to be no end to the sleaze that permeated government operations in the last few years. The most recent revelation is that the China energy negotiator in Enemalta owned a secret company suspected of being a set-up to pay kickbacks to former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s chief-of-staff, Keith Schembri, and former energy minister Konrad Mizzi.
The prime minister will continue to argue that Schembri and Mizzi are no longer involved in government. But Abela must admit that these people’s corrupt practices hang like an albatross around the present administration’s neck, which projects itself as a continuation of the previous administration’s strategic management.
It will take a long time for the police and anti-money laundering agencies to investigate the multitude of allegations that keep surfacing about the abuse of power perpetrated under Muscat’s watch. But the damage repair exercise needed to restore Malta’s reputation must not wait for the outcome of the criminal investigation and eventual judiciary process.
When the prime minister says that he is doing all he can to repair Malta’s tarnished reputation his credibility is challenged. He still tolerates that some of those who were involved in unacceptable behaviour in the past continue to occupy important public posts. The CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority and the legal adviser of the Malta Financial Services Authority were both involved in such behaviour. They still serve as public officials.
The government and the opposition need to work together to complete the damage repair exercise as early as possible. Sections of the business community, like the e-gaming operators, expect this to happen soon to put their minds at rest on the viability of their operations in Malta. The government is under great pressure, both locally and internationally, to get it right.
Yet, the prime minister’s condemnation of the MEPs who criticised his and the previous administration’s handling of the governance crisis does not help restore confidence in Malta’s efforts to turn the page on how it manages its public affairs.
Moneyval’s verdict on Malta will not be the end but the beginning of the country’s rehabilitation of its reputation.