Editorial: Beyond the Valenzia inquiry findings

The government says it is actively working on the implementation of the recommendations made by the Valenzia inquiry into the drugs heist from a military compound.

“The government has already begun taking the necessary actions following the publication of the facts, considerations, conclusions and recommendations of the administrative inquiry appointed by the prime minister.” That was the reply by a spokesperson for the office of the prime minister when asked about the government’s plan of action.

What will in fact happen and when it will happen still to be seen.

However, those who did go through the published pages of the inquiry would be justified to wonder whether just implementing the recommendations suffices. This especially since two critical issues are at stake: court exhibits and the proper functioning of the Armed Forces of Malta.

In relation to court exhibits, the inquiry makes it amply clear that when seized drugs are involved there is a serious problem where it comes to their destruction. This is not an issue that emerged only now and, yet, not much was done to find a lasting solution.

We are supposed to believe all will be solved, thanks to an investment to preserve court exhibits. We should believe that no more items will go missing from the court’s so-called strongroom and that drugs seized will be well guarded, destroyed without any loss of time or sent overseas.

But, hold on. More than a year ago, it was announced that the justice ministry had appointed an administrative board to review the procedures on exhibits filed in court. The board had been given two months to look into the system in place and make recommendations on how it can be enhanced. The year before, a magistrate berated severely the “shameful and embarrassing” state of the court ‘strongroom’, describing the place as being in “absolute abandonment”.

Still, we keep hearing of items like laptops and mobile phones, considered to be crucial exhibits in court cases, disappearing. This state of affairs culminated in the theft of the drugs from a supposedly secure container situated in a supposedly secure area, which a barracks really should be.

Incidentally, why were the drugs kept in a container when the army has, or, at least, had, a well and proper strongroom? A safe storage depot had been erected at the army compound in Ħal Far to keep 200 million Maltese euro coins, valued at €56 million and weighing 1,000 tons, in 2007.

Then, there is the very worrying aspect of the situation within the army. It is certainly demeaning, not to use a stronger word, reading in the inquiry report that the container locks were insufficient, that lighting was inadequate, that the fences were not secure enough, that security cameras were not properly monitored, that the soldiers on duty simply ignored their orders.

The AFM boasts of men and women who do their duty loyally. A good number of its officers have been trained in some of the best military academies overseas. Hence, the people’s expectations in terms of discipline and a good and effective chain of command are justifiably high. Yet, the embarrassing drugs heist seems to tell a different story. There are glaring loopholes.

That is why the action plan must go beyond the findings and recommendations of the Valenzia inquiry.

Otherwise, and that is assuming remedial action is taken without loss of time even if just on what the inquiry established, it will be no more than a knee-jerk reaction by politicians and their appointees caught napping.