Lessons from Castille and Dar Centrali: Shameless behaviour and impunity

Ministers submitted their asset declarations for 2023 with the cabinet secretary last year and yet they remain unpublished. At this rate, we presume that neither the asset declarations for 2024 will be published.

The prime minister simply refuses to table the declarations in parliament in blatant disregard of a three-decades-long tradition. It is a slap in the face of good governance.

The publication of asset declarations by ministers is an act of transparency that enables journalists and the public to hold the executive to account. By refusing to publish his declaration and those of his ministers and parliamentary secretaries, Robert Abela is eroding the public’s right to scrutinise the executive.

Conveniently, the prime minister hides behind the excuse that there is no legal obligation to table the asset declarations of ministers in parliament. The only obligation, he insists, is for asset declarations to be handed to the cabinet secretary by March of every year.

Conveniently, the prime minister suggests that a reform is due that would ensure the declaration of assets for ministers and MPs will be in the same format—declarations made by ministers are more onerous than those expected of MPs.

Meanwhile, until this reform happens—there is absolutely no indication it will be unveiled anytime soon—ministers will continue shirking accountability.

What’s worse is that when asked about these asset declarations, the prime minister lied in January when he confirmed that the declarations had been submitted by ministers as required by the Cabinet Manual but added that these “were available to the public”. They were not available to the public and when journalists filed requests with the cabinet secretary for a copy of the declarations, these were refused.

Until today, the asset declarations made by Abela’s ministers for 2023—and by now even for 2024—remain unavailable to the public.

Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi recently reiterated that ministerial declarations should be automatically made public. He also drew attention to the 2019 recommendation by the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), an offshoot of the Council of Europe, which stated that declarations should be made more easily and systematically accessible.

Azzopardi observed that the dual system of declarations—for MPs and ministers—is unsatisfactory since it leads to “unnecessary duplication, confusion and a lack of systematic transparency”.

Nonetheless, the standards commissioner also noted that whatever the future system of asset declarations may be, there should be no reduction in the information ministers are obliged to provide.

He insisted that any change should be in line with the recommendations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and GRECO, and any reform to the system should follow public consultation and not be rushed.

But Azzopardi was adamant that in the meantime, ministers’ declarations for 2023 should be tabled.

It goes without saying that the standard commissioner’s recommendation has fallen on deaf ears. Abela continues to ignore calls for more transparency and accountability. As a consequence, he is fomenting suspicion that someone from his cabinet—including himself—may not have their house in order.

What is there to hide? Why the disdain towards a more transparent system? Why shackle the public from being able to scrutinise the financial matters of members of the executive? Do the asset declarations reveal unexplained wealth for some ministers when compared to their lifestyles? It is a shame that the prime minister has embarked on a road that thrusts all ministers into the spotlight for the wrong reasons.

At the Dar Centrali

Similarly, it is a shame that the Nationalist Party continues to ignore the law by failing to submit its annual accounts and donation reports with the Electoral Commission.

There is little to suggest the problem will be resolved in the immediate future despite repeated commitments by Bernard Grech and other PN exponents that the problem will be solved.

The PN cannot instil trust in how it will manage the country’s finances when in government given the difficulty it has in managing its own house. The party cannot hope to go into an election campaign with this issue unresolved—it simply makes it untrustworthy.

Additionally, the PN cannot be seen credible when it speaks about the rule of law, when it has been flaunting the law governing party finances with impunity.

Grech cannot ignore this problem any longer.