Busuttil rails against ‘institutionalised corruption’ inside Labour administration

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil will publish a package of ‘good governance’ proposals which he says should be any government’s blueprint on transparency and accountability, and that will be a future Nationalist administration’s own guidebook in governance.

In an interview on Radju Malta’s Ghandi Xi Nghid where he railed against the Labour government’s “institutionalised corruption”, Busuttil hit out at Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, calling upon him to assume responsibility for controversial decisions taken in the Lands Department and MEPA which entities are part of his portfolio.

“We are witnessing obscenities we first saw in the 1980s. The Gaffarena expropriation is a classic example… it’s government-blessed corruption. [Parliamentary secretary] Michael Falzon met Gaffarena beforehand, he went on vacation with him…

“Why were part of the government offices expropriated when the lease was due to expire in 2028? Because Gaffarena wanted a deal… and this institutionalised corruption emerges from the exaggerated valuations that made Gaffarena a millionaire just from 50% ownership of this property.”

Busuttil said it was outrageous that under a slimmed-down code of ethics, belatedly published three months since its approval, ministers’ spouses no longer need to declare their earnings.

“It’s a recipe for corruption,” he said.

The PN leader said he was determined to change these things and that by the end of 2015, he will have issued proposals promoting good governance for any government to lead by example.

“I will publish the code of ethics that will be in place on the first day of a new Nationalist government.”

Busuttil said it was clear that Muscat was paying back obligations debited  during his time as Opposition leader. “What type of prime minister do people want? One that is turning people into millionaires because of these obligations? We have to clean up politics, and even in this difficult climate I will not lose heart.”

Busuttil, who took part in the protest against the siting of Sadeen’s private university at Zonqor Point, also said that it was unacceptable that any private investor is granted a deal behind the people’s backs without a public expression of interest.

“The land over there also belongs to people who are going to be turned into multi-millionaires to sell their land,” Busuttil said.

“If you are going to do a project, choose a development area or somewhere that is already committed. How can Muscat hammer out a deal behind people’s backs with a foreign investor, without a public call? Aren’t there other investors interested? And what sort of track record does a construction company have in education? What standards can this company have to be granted a licence for a university?”

He also accused Labour of intimidating the Opposition and employing a ‘1980s style’ of silencing critics.

“We’ve had insults in parliament, the Speaker suspending the House twice, and a government minister shouting at me just for asking questions about his wife. Having Konrad Mizzi picking his wife to enjoy the exaggerated salary of €13,000 a month to me is institutionalised corruption.”

He said the Opposition would not be intimidated, and that it was obliged to ask the same questions that ordinary people were asking.

“I will defend people being called ‘spies’ by Muscat,” he said of three workers currently under disciplinary procedures for allegedly exchanging confidential information as part of a team of advisors to shadow finance minister Tonio Fenech.

“If the government persists in this political discrimination, it is only going to worsen the current climate. We will fight this breach of human rights. These people are brandished as ‘spies’ by the Prime Minister for giving their advice to the shadow finance minister… it is unacceptable.”