During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, our country came together and successfully weathered the storm. Sacrifices were made and not every professional enterprise made it through in one piece. Nonetheless, our tourism sector has been particularly hit hard and, according to the government, we are expecting 700,000 visitors this year, down from the previous annual number of 2.7 million.
It must also be taken into consideration that it is likely that there will be a second wave of COVID-19 and the contraction of the sector may therefore continue. Therefore, it is more serious than ever that the country takes its obligations towards good governance reform seriously.
A failure of governance has economic costs. Due to the scandals of the past few years, we are now set to be greylisted by Moneyval in October. It is about time that we accept the US Embassy’s offer of assistance in the murder investigation of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
It is crucial to note that the Moneyval conclusions last September placed an emphasis on the fact that Malta has serious problems investigating and prosecuting financial crime. In his court testimony, Assistant Police Commissioner Ian Abdilla, who was recently replaced as head of the Economic Crimes Unit, revealed that he had not even summoned Keith Schembri or Konrad Mizzi for questioning.
The former police commissioner, Lawrence Cutajar, is now himself under investigation for misconduct. There are also allegations that former deputy police commissioner, Silvio Valletta was in bed with Yorgen Fenech, though not literally. In a recent court testimony on June 15, then acting police commissioner Carmelo Magri stated that the FBI “are no longer involved but I’m not sure why”. One is reminded of when FBI agents were flown to Malta to testify in court, only to be told that their testimony was no longer needed.
A failure of governance has economic costs
It is clear that Malta’s authorities have fundamentally failed at their task of investigating and prosecuting financial crimes and others besides and that we are now staring at tremendous economic impacts in the face as a result.
Malta Employers’ Association president Doris Sammut Bonnici has stated that if Malta is greylisted by Moneyval, it could be as economically devastating as the coronavirus pandemic itself. She said: “Unfortunately, Malta’s image has been devalued as the country has been rocked by a successive series of scandals that have drawn the attention of the international media.”
Though the government is looking to pass 10 very welcome Bills in parliament related to good governance, it remains absolutely crucial to wrap up the Caruana Galizia assassination investigation in a manner which is, to quote the US Embassy, “credible”.
In October 2019, the US Embassy released a loaded statement, one which is generally unheard of for its political implications coming from the diplomatic world. The US Embassy statement includes the wording: “We stand ready to support the investigation in any way we can, if requested by Maltese authorities” and “it is not too late for Malta to bring Daphne’s killers to justice in a credible manner”.
The implications are clear in light of Magri’s testimony and the wider context. The FBI appear to have been removed from the investigations, likely due to the sensitive information they had uncovered, or were prevented from encountering.
Since that statement was first released, the Joseph Muscat government has fallen and so the question now is: why has the new administration not yet accepted this offer of help?
It was a US Embassy legal advisor who recently warned that Malta was likely to fail the Moneyval exam. If Malta is to emerge this tourist season with hope for economic recovery, we must leave no stone unturned to repair our reputation. It is an economic asset.
Let us, therefore, finally acknowledge the bombshell that is the US Embassy’s statement last year and admit that refusing to take it up means that the government is prioritising protecting criminals over economic recovery.
Timothy Alden, acting leader, Democratic Party