Tit-for-tat as parliament debates standards bill

Identity Malta was the country's most corrupt institution and it was ironic that the justice minister inisisted he had full faith in the state entity and its officials, when cases of corruption were continuously revealed, according to opposition spokesman Beppe Fenech Adami.

While speaking in parliament in the debate during the second reading of the Public Life Standards bill, Fenech Adami said the corruption at Identity Malta was blatant in the case of applications for Maltese citizenship under the IIP scheme.

Some applicants, he said, had been granted citizenship without even filling out Identity Malta's application form in full; some had not even signed the application or declared how long they spent in Malta. 

Fenech Adami said that, in one case, an applicant received his approval letter from Identity Malta on 27 October 2015 and yet, he had - a day before - already applied for a Maltese vote.

Parliamentary secretary Deborah Schembri noted that Fenech Adami had chosen to ignore completely the content and spirit of the bill to vent out against Identity Malta.

What was ironic, she said, was that Fenech Adami had not dwelt on the bill's aim to instill accountability in politicians, when he himself was currently in negotiations with the Planning Authority after building on to his house, 'or palace', in an ODZ area.

Schembri said the Nationalist Party had done nothing to promote standards in its politicians while it was in government and it was still persisting in not censuring any of its MPs that had been revealed to have acted in bad faith.

The government's aim when introducing this bill was to do away with double-standards in politics and replace them with standards of excellence and accountability that could raise politics to new heights.

Nationalist MP Francis Zammit Dimech said he could not understand how Schembri could stress that good governance was one of the government's main concerns when it was blatantly obvious in the government's policies and behaviour that good governance was the last thing on its mind.

Government whip Godfrey Farrugia said this act would make politicians accountable for their behaviour and actions. But he also said that the Standards Commissioner, a position proposed in the bill, should be granted powers to act pro-actively and not have to wait for third parties to register a complaint before investigating the matter and taking action.

He also recommended that the new authority be bound to prepare a report to present in parliament immediately following a general election, giving a detailed accounting of complaints received, actions taken and sanctions issued against politicians.

Opposition spokesman Clyde Puli said that the Nationalist Party would be voting in favour of the bill, because this was necessary for the public to start regaining its trust in politicians in general, and members of parliament in particular.

This bill would have curbed the abuses that became apparent after the current Labour government came into office, as the case of Gaffarena and the Cafe Premier, he said.

Home affairs minister Carmelo Abela said this bill was yet another of the Labour government's electoral promises that it was fulfilling and denied that this process had been set in process by the Nationalist Party or that it was an extension of the opposition's document on good governance.

Opposition spokesperson Claudette Buttigieg praised the media for its investigations into government scandals during the last three years and also unions and constituted bodies for standing up to government and saying "enough is enough". 

She called on the government to publish details of the contract related to the Gozo hospital, including what would happen with the public land it was on, instead of having to wait till November when the government was promising it would publish the contacts in full.

Opposition MP Karl Gouder said it was imperative that an element of transparency become mainstream in politics to ensure that politicians maintain their integrity and secure public approval.