NGOs call for Constitutional reform in the face of national crisis on governance

The human rights NGOs aditus foundation, Integra Foundation and The Critical Institute have called on the President of the Republic to kick-start a Constitutional reform that can rebuild strong and independent democratic institutions to ensure the rule of law and respect for fundamental human rights.

“The national crisis Malta is facing today is the direct and predictable result of a series of strategic moves that have, over time, violated the fundamental elements of democracy and the rule of law.

“Successive Maltese governments and parliaments have retained and strengthened existing power structures with the main aim of self-preservation, obscuring the lines separating the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government: lines a democracy so desperately requires to remain healthy, inclusive and sustainable,” the NGO said in a hard-hitting statement on good governance.

“Ultimately, it is the entire nation that continues to suffer: the people – particularly the most vulnerable, the environment, industries, cultural heritage, civil society, ideologies, and justice. All this with much public encouragement and applause.”

The NGOs also called on members of Government and Members of Parliament to commit to a governance approach that is built on transparency, inclusivity and accountability.

And it also appealed to individuals and communities to avoid complacency and to expect more and better from any Government of the day and from Parliament, require from them the most impeccable conduct and, where this fails, to insist on their immediate resignation or removal.

“We remain extremely concerned at two deeply institutionalised conditions that, if left unchecked, will not only prevent Malta from achieving its full national potential but will also fuel extremely serious levels of community mistrust, hatred and poverty.”

The NGOs said Malta’s governance institutions were failing to fulfil their roles of preventing and addressing abuses of political and administrative  power and instead were being used as extensions of political party clubs or recruitment agencies.

“Stripped of their monitoring roles and independence, our institutions are easily overcome by ministers and parliamentarians who refuse to step aside when faced with serious allegations of corruption, favouritism, fraud and other forms of political misconduct,” the NGOs said.

They also said Malta’s educational institutions had failed to create a nation that actively questions, and expects better of its ministers and parliamentarians, “that is not complacent in the face of impunity.”

“The values underpinning successful democracies – critical thought, active citizenship, mutual learning and understanding, social responsibility, community cohesion and human rights – have long been absent from school, college and university curricula and methodologies. Together with the academic gaps this has created, we have a severe lowering of democratic expectations, where glittering and at times irresponsible electoral promises replace long-term commitments that aim to better the entire nation for the common good.”