President George Vella has claimed in his final Republic Day address that he was "prevented" from furthering his work on constitutional reform.

In 2019, four months into his appointment, Vella launched a public consultation seeking feedback about what people wanted to see changed in the Constitution. 

However, Vella said his desire to hold a convention - a body that would make recommendations to parliament - could not go ahead. 

“It is also a cause of displeasure for me that after the great deal of work done in collecting and evaluating suggestions from the general public and constituted bodies on the changes desired in the Constitution, I was prevented from continuing the process of convening a Convention because, despite all my best efforts, there was no willingness to agree on who should lead this Convention,” he said. 

Vella was speaking during Republic Day celebrations at the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta, the last of his presidency as his term is set to come to an end in April. 

Nonetheless, Vella said that it was “wonderful” that the country had managed to institute important reform, particularly on the appointment of the judiciary, the police commissioner and the president as well as the separation of powers in the office of the attorney general. 

Despite taking a dig at negative media coverage that he said portrayed Malta as no longer having people of integrity, Vella went on to say it was pointless to celebrate Republic Day if the people leading the country are not beyond reproach. 

“What use is it to celebrate that our country is a Republic, and boast that we have now taken control of our own future if we do not have people who are wise and smart enough to lead this country in the best interest of the Maltese and Gozitan people? Above all, people whose integrity is not in any doubt,” Vella said.

“Corruption, both proven and alleged, gnaws at the very backbone of democracy and deters those who wish to participate in political and public life.”

Malta must better integration efforts

Speaking about the country’s rapid population growth, Vella said it was unfair to think of people who have been living and working in Malta for several years simply as “foreigners”, particularly as it was “our choice” to bring them to the country in the interest of economic development.

However, he added that the country must reflect properly on how to continue expanding the economy and come up with a plan that encompasses all of what the future can offer in the interest of moving forward.

That being said, people should not expect foreigners in Malta to “suddenly disappear”.

“As long as they are here, we must acknowledge that our population is now mixed, and therefore we must educate ourselves on how to live together in a multicultural society, with all the advantages and disadvantages that such situations bring about,” he said.

Integrating foreign workers into Maltese society should not only be about teaching them our language and customs but protecting them from exploitation, he added.

“We do this not only by encouraging them to learn the language, or by giving them venues in which to practise their religion, but above all by protecting them from exploiters, from those who deceive them, from those who leech as much money as they can out of their pockets, and accommodate them in places not fit for human residency,” Vella said. 

Neutrality still an important peacekeeping tool

Discussing Malta’s neutral stance on armed conflict, Vella said that while questions have been raised about the effectiveness of neutrality in times of war it remains an important tool in the quest for peace. 

The stance has not prevented Malta from making important contributions to international affairs, particularly with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas.

“Where there was a need to condemn, we condemned; where there was a need to defend, we defended; and where there was a need to impose sanctions, we imposed them; always within the parameters enshrined in our Constitution,” he said. 

Vella condemned the killing of all innocent people, irrespective of who carries it out and called for an end to all massacres, particularly of children. 

He added that it is “a pity” that the United Nations Security Council has not been able to reach an agreement to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 

Country needs a plan for construction, traffic 

Turning to matters that impact quality of life in Malta, Vella touched upon the need for more sensitivity towards environmental problems, particularly the construction industry encroaching on public spaces.

“ It is a pity that despite warnings from different sectors in the past few years, construction still continues to take over large parts of the limited space we have left,” he said.

“More controls and more enforcement of existing regulations will help save what is left.”

The country is also sorely lacking a plan on how to tackle traffic problems, Vella said, noting that despite infrastructural investment, difficulties and delays on the road are still widespread.

 “The problem is the number of vehicles on our roads, which continue to increase by regular amounts every day,” he said.

“There is a need for a holistic plan that includes education about our travel habits, research on other individual as well as collective modes of transport that we can develop, times for certain heavy vehicles, and possibly controls over parking times in certain localities.” 

Perpetrators of Daphne murder must face justice 

Recalling that he had also mentioned the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in his first speech as president, Vella urged authorities to do what must be done to close this chapter and see justice served, with all those responsible “paying for their actions”. 

“The human chapter and the pains of relatives and family members will never be closed. The only consolation for them will be that at least justice would have been done with all those who were responsible for this heinous murder,” Vella said.