Can it work? Will it work? Will we see a deluge in registered illegalities? Will people ignore it? These are all questions which people are asking in the wake of an announcement to introduce a Whistleblower Act into Maltese law.

Whichever way one looks at it, the introduction of the Act itself is a double-edged sword. As Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi pointed out during Thursday’s press conference, if it works, people will complain that the country is rife with corruption. If it doesn’t, people will say that it is just a paper law which does not address the issues at hand.

It is wrong to think of the Whistleblower Act as a tool which is designed exclusively to tackle corruption. If one looks at legal systems overseas, similar enactments serve more as a forum for Joe Public to report an illegality, rather than backhanders or favouritism.

Perhaps the best example could be cited from a case involving a Sunday morning shop. Let us take a very real scenario. A shop opens on a Sunday morning and the owner does not arrive before the delivery of, for example bread and cheese. The food is left out on the doorstep in the sun for 20 minutes. That is where a person can ‘blow the whistle’ on their employers and report the illegality.

But from this very real scenario, we have to look at realities. To report the employer, this person should have recourse to a Whistleblower Office. Private companies will be obliged to open the said office. But what is going to happen in small enterprises with just a few employees. Such small firms and companies struggle in keeping on enough staff to operate, let alone set up a Whistleblower Office.

But this remains to be seen. The legal system has been designed around encouraging honest citizens to point out wrongdoings and to discourage malicious claims. If a person is seen to be ‘doing the right thing’, they will be given all the protection they need, but the law will not cover anyone who reports something out of malice or for personal gain.

In principle, the Act is welcome and is designed to do the right thing. But we are concerned about its implementation. Many argue that it might be the most difficult to implement in the Army and Police Corps, but it is more likely that the private sector will find it most difficult.

For the Act to work, Malta must bring about a change in mindset. By nature, the Maltese people prefer to keep a low profile and let sleeping dogs lie. In contrast, others are so frightened about losing their job or suffering retribution, that they will not report a matter. The Act provides for protecting the whistleblower, but just how many will come forward?

Perhaps, rather than argue that a change of mindset is needed before the Whistleblower Act can work, we should be looking at it from the point of view that the introduction of the said Act can finally force a change in mindset.

Whatever the case may be, if it is implemented as it should be – if people that come forward are protected (and more importantly treated seriously) and if complaints are followed up by swift and decisive action – the Whistleblower Act can be a very useful tool in fighting illegalities and upholding the rule of law.