Few should doubt the endemic levels of corruption that reigned in the seven years when Joseph Muscat was prime minister. The abuse of entrusted power for private gain has eroded the trust that people should have in those they chose to govern them.
The Electrogas power station project continues to unfold with almost weekly revelations of corrupt political leadership aided and abetted by equally corrupt private interests.
This marriage made in hell exposed the anatomy of public corruption. It was characterised with the mismanagement of resources, the looting of public assets and with unashamed rationalisations for self-interest and greed.
Minister after minister giving evidence in the public inquiry on the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galiza tried to distance themselves from the abusive way this project was managed. Yet, not one of them has demonstrated the moral strength needed to ensure that the trust of ordinary people in those that govern them is not abused.
Louis Grech, the former deputy prime minister, pussyfooted around the moral, criminal and political crisis that will forever define the Muscat administration.
Like other fellow ministers, Grech’s political reputation has been badly tarnished by his inaction at a time when he had the duty and power to ask relevant questions and expect convincing answers.
Times of Malta has revealed how the then minister Konrad Mizzi gave the Electrogas consortium a moratorium of 18 years to pay the penalties linked to the non-performance of their contractual obligations.
The evidence of bribery, procurement irregularities, embezzlement of funds and theft of resources has so far not been adequately addressed by the present prime minister
The exchange of emails between the political and business protagonists in this shameful saga is ample evidence of state capture where private interests felt they could pressurise politicians to make decisions that favoured them rather than the public interest. The evidence of bribery, procurement irregularities, embezzlement of funds and theft of resources has so far not been adequately addressed by the present prime minister.
By resigning earlier this year, Muscat he has paid the ultimate price for the corrupt cabal that ruled Malta in the last seven years.
Mizzi, the former energy minister, was kicked out of the Labour Party but has so far not been charged with any offences. And Muscat’s former chief of staff, Keith Schembri, resigned from the PL but has still not been charged with any of the crimes there are strong indications he committed when he was a public official.
Prime Minister Robert Abela has the moral obligation to ensure that the abuse of power involved in the Electrogas project does not cause irreversible damage to Malta’s reputation. So far, Abela has taken a legalistic stance by refusing to distance himself from Muscat, claiming that his predecessor is not under investigation. More importantly, Abela has not shown any inclination to challenge the legal and moral validity of the Electrogas contract.
It will indeed be a sad day for Malta’s democratic values if the prime minister relied on the internal investigation carried out by Electrogas. In absolving themselves of any wrongdoing in this tragic saga, the consortium has acted as defence attorneys, judge and jury.
The criminal, commercial and political implications of this saga need to be addressed with determination.
The prime minister has an obligation towards the country to commission a public inquiry to delve into the Electrogas project. Political expediency should not influence the timing of this inquiry.
The least that ordinary people should expect is that Abela makes every effort to renegotiate the Electrogas agreement in the public interest.