Bernard Grech has accused Robert Abela of allowing the "law of the jungle" to reign as the Opposition repeated its calls for Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri to resign.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Grech said Camilleri should take responsibility for failing to temporarily suspend the prison chief when he was charged with threatening a man with a gun.
Earlier this week , prison boss Robert Brincau was found guilty of a range of offences including injuring a man and carrying a gun without a licence at Għadira Bay in August.
Brincau has since stepped down from his role as correction facility director, however, opposition home affairs spokesperson Joseph Giglio said that it is too late for that to be the effective solution.
“The fact that he has now resigned does not change or lessen the mistaken decision that was taken in the beginning,” he said as he put the blame on Camilleri for not listening to the opposition’s advice back then.
Giglio said that, when the accusations against Brincau emerged in August, the opposition advised the government that the best thing in the circumstances is that the then-prison director suspend himself.
However, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri rejected the idea as it would create “a vacuum in Corradino Correction Facility’s leadership,” Giglio said.
Giglio continued to say that the opposition’s opinion is that Camilleri is “not fit for purpose”, not only due to the Kordin situation but also towards “the demotivation of the police force.”
“They are overworked, overstretched, and definitely not overpaid,” he said while pointing out that when there is a call to fill the police force’s ranks, the needed number of applicants is “never met”.
'Stingy' attitude to courts
Highlighting Abela's criticism of the courts for delays, Grech said his stance was that, like the police, the courts and many other aspects of the country are underfunded.
“The first thing [Abela] needs to do is let the authorities work, but he also needs to see that the authorities and our institutions have ideal people to lead but also the investment that they need so their work can be done well.”
Grech brought up instances of magistrates and judges messaging on notice boards and chat groups telling lawyers that the case will not move forward because they lack staff or because they lack space.
He said that during his own time as a lawyer he experienced the same situation as staff are overworked and has only gotten worse over the past three years since Abela’s ascension. The problem is Abela and his “stingy” way of dealing with the courts, health, police and traffic, Grech said.
“But why? Because Robert Abela and his friends prefer to spend millions on propaganda instead of spending money on ensuring your safety.
“Whoever is strong can do what they want under Robert Abela, because under Robert Abela the law of the jungle reigns,” he said.