Parliamentary Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud has renewed calls for lobbying in Malta to be properly regulated.
In his annual plan presented to parliament last week, the ombudsman said his office had, over the years, drawn attention to the uncontrolled lobbying carried out by big business seeking to advance their interests, particularly in public projects.
The problem had again been highlighted in the Daphne Caruana Galizia inquiry report, the ombudsman noted.
In a veiled reference to the Electrogas and Vitals Global Healthcare projects, the ombudsman said unregulated lobbying had engulfed whole sectors like healthcare and energy.
He noted how investigations by the National Audit Office had found “many irregularities” that led to doubts over the legality of certain projects. Many of these doubts were brought about by the lack of transparency in the way prospective investors proposed and negotiated these projects with the government.“
All too often, preliminary discussions take place in private, meaning no traces are left that can lead to any accountability,” the ombudsman said.
A report by the auditor general last year concluded that “collusion” between the Vitals Global Healthcare investors and the government should have seen their bid to run three public hospitals barred.
The ombudsman said the problem did not just apply to large-scale projects.
He also sounded the alarm on individual lobby or pressure groups whose aim was to influence decisions taken by the authorities. Such practices, the ombudsman said, went against the principles of a participative democracy as they gave an unfair advantage to persons or groups in their relationship with the public sector.
The ombudsman endorsed plans by the standards commissioner to make lobbying more transparent by banning secret gifts to MPs and regulating the way politicians and lobbyists communicate.
He also renewed calls by his office to strengthen provisions against trading in influence, as well as extending lobbying regulations to political parties and curbing the power of incumbency.