The US State Department’s decision to impose a travel ban on Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri has somewhat clouded Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà’s first year in office.
The US authorities did what the Malta police still fail, or refuse, to do: act on the basis of “credible information that Mizzi and Schembri were involved in a corrupt scheme that entailed the award of a government contract for the construction of a power plant and related services in exchange for kickbacks and bribes”.
Shortly after his appointment in April 2020, Gafà had declared: “Names do not impress me… I am not going to fear anybody. Under my leadership, I will not look at any faces”.
He also gave a “100 per cent guarantee” that corruption allegations will be investigated, irrespective of who was involved.
It will be unfair to say Gafà has been ineffective or sitting idly. After his predecessor’s embarrassing and shameful leadership, Gafà has implemented much-needed changes in the police force and long overdue action has been taken on money laundering cases, even if many believe this is thanks to mounting pressure by both domestic and international forces. But the ‘big fish’ continue to escape the net, either because it is being cast in the wrong place or because the mesh is too wide.
As sources close to the government admitted with Times of Malta, the move by the US is the result of a perceived lack of court and police action.
“This happened because the US believes we are dragging our feet against corruption,” the high-level source declared.
Such people may not be the ones with the largest microphone or those most able to mobilise the crowds.
They may not be the majority, as understood in a country governed by a parliamentary democracy, either. However, in a democracy, minorities too are important and necessary partners in driving a just and inclusive society whose voices cannot be diminished, President George Vella said.
Speaking at the official Republic Day ceremony earlier this month, the president stressed that his constitutional duty is to ensure the rule of law, governance and the preservation of stable relations between the presidency and the other constitutional institutions.
Whether the relations between him and institutions are stable or not, the people cannot say as they are not privy to what is happening. What the people, whether the majority or the minority, know for sure is that the law does not rule and governance is still poor.
The police, the courts and parliament have yet to work in harmony to reverse this situation. Exhaustive police investigations and successful prosecutions involving high-profile cases are few and far between while decisive action appears to have been taken against the small fry.
Unnecessary delays and apparent inconsistencies in meting out justice make a thorough court reform more urgent than ever. And that will depend a lot on the legislation enacted by parliament, another institution that spectacularly fails the people by refusing to raise standards and ensure all its members are role models of decency and good behaviour.
Last week, we praised a trio of institutions that we believe are doing a fine job: the offices of the national auditor, the standards commissioner and the ombudsman.
The police, the courts and parliament are three even more vital institutions whose functioning still leaves a lot to be desired.
The people, both the majority and minority, must resolve to demand change to ensure all institutions truly work to get the country back on an even keel.