[attach id=1165173 size="medium" align="right" type="image"][/attach]

A report by a Church commission has slammed "corrupt clientelism" and urged politicians to “leave nature alone”.

It calls for political parties to become less dependent on business donations with the introduction of state-financing of parties and a shift to full-time MPs.

Candidates try to ‘buy’ the vote of constituents by bypassing systems which should be in place to ensure transparency and fairness- Peace and Justice Commission

The Justice and Peace Commission report does not mince its words.

It urges voters to use their “vote and behaviour to say no to a corrupt system whereby candidates try to ‘buy’ the vote of constituents by bypassing systems which should be in place to ensure transparency and fairness”.

It appeals to politicians to “combat corrupt clientelism” by passing laws that would see MPs go full-time and make parties state-financed.

“Instead of creating ‘green spaces’, protect existing open spaces and ensure existing planning laws and regulations are enforced, while giving nature – and citizens – some respite by moving away from car dependency and promoting sustainable mobility,” the report tells political parties.

[attach id=1165170 size="medium" align="right" type="image"][/attach]

“[We need] green open spaces – preferably untouched from development and not artificially created as some sort of compensation for destroying the natural environment,” it says.

“Rather than being centred around economic metrics, such as GDP, the yearly budget should go beyond and target a much broader range of outcomes, such as improving mental health, reducing child poverty, addressing inequalities and transitioning to a sustainable economy."

Unprecedented growth, but at what price?

Titled 'Yahad', a Hebrew term which refers to the concepts of togetherness and community, the document acknowledges the “unprecedented economic growth” and record employment rates, saying policymakers and citizens improved the standard of living, allowing the government to expand its social services and financial aid to families and businesses.

However, we are paying a price for it, the commission argues, while singling out Daphne Caruana Galizia, Lassana Cisse and Miriam Pace as “a symbol of those who paid the highest price and who, in more ways than one, are the victims of our success”.

“One thing which emerges with shocking clarity in the Daphne [public inquiry] Report is the series of extremely serious ‘sins of omission’ committed by those who had the responsibility not only to protect Daphne but also to prevent the creation of a de facto ‘state of impunity’ which led those behind the execution to literally think they could get away with murder,” the report says.

“Whether through wilful inaction or gross incompetence, the result was that Daphne was left alone, vulnerable and exposed to a degree which ultimately led to her murder.”

The commission notes how the Daphne Report describes a system in which elected officials were serving the interests of a select powerful few instead of the common good.

“In its own way, the pre-electoral barrage of phone calls asking people if they need anything is another sign of the long road ahead, when it comes to good governance,” it says.

On the murder of Cisse, the commission said that even though the AFM’s internal inquiry found no evidence of racism in the army, “an independent inquiry would have been a much more adequate response to the seriousness of the situation”.

It says Cisse’s killing is one of the worst in a series of racial injustices, including the policies with which migrants fleeing Libya could be left to die or sent back, and the injustice is even worse considering that the country would have not done so well economically if it were not for the hard labour of thousands of migrants like Cisse.

“We are often ready to ‘welcome’ migrants, as long as we need them to sustain our economic activity, only to be discarded when injured and not needed,” the report notes.

“This was evident during the COVID crisis when policymakers made it abundantly clear that, given the downturn in the economy, all migrants should be sent back to their country of origin since they were no longer ‘needed’. Only for the same policymakers to raise the alarm about the lack of ‘workers’ as soon as the economy re-opened in 2021.”

Questions about Malta's golden passport scheme

The commission also raises questions on Malta’s individual investor programme, more commonly known as the golden passport scheme.

“We have to ask ourselves if we’re comfortable granting citizenship to people with no genuine link to Malta as long as they are ready to pay for it, while making it practically impossible for people who have been living here for years to become Maltese citizens.”

The commission says that in construction, especially, policies and regulations often favour economic development, to the tune that “citizens are expected to be on a 24-hour watch just in case a new ‘development’ or policy needs to be objected to”.

The commission highlights other victims, which it dubs the faceless victim, “who represents all those trying their best to live a virtuous life in circumstances which, at times, make it much easier to be corrupt”.

They say these victims include honest tax-paying citizens, those who do not ask for favours in order to get a job or a service, those who are not well-connected, those who are obliged to work very long hours without the right to disconnect, the elderly who feel marginalised, women who are suffering from hatred, violence and discrimination and future generations who will inherit a “public debt burden” and “the full impact of the climate emergency”.

“As the country prepares to elect a new government, the memory of the victims outlined above is not meant to lead us to despair or hopelessness,” the commission says, as it calls for truth, creative courage, temperance and merciful patience to prevail.

“Change is possible. But it cannot be left to ‘others’. It needs all of us.”