The Police Commissioner has to be given the liberty to conduct his own investigations, away from any interference from Castille, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said on Wednesday.  

Grech was referring to former minister Konrad Mizzi’s refusal to appear before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee to answer questions on the Electrogas deal.

During debate on the estimates of the justice ministry, Grech also spoke of the irony of Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis being responsible for good governance, after leaked WhatsApp messages between Zammit Lewis and Yorgen Fenech.

At the time of the messages, Fenech was already known to be the owner of 17 Black, but was yet to be apprehended on the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

“How is it possible that there are ministers within the Labour government who do not know what their role means. How is it possible that we have a justice and good governance minister who was exposed to have had intimate relations with alleged criminals?”

Grech said that, at a time when the biggest corruption scandals hit our country, Malta needs a good governance minister who appreciates the role.

If the exposed WhatsApp messages between Zammit Lewis and Yorgen Fenech are true, it is surely not an act of good governance, Grech said.

"Other labour MPs are also to blame because they are defending unethical ministers and criminals,” Grech asserted. 

He also claimed that Zammit Lewis’s actions have made a laughing stock of the Maltese Parliament and the faith the electorate has given to the house.

“The Labour government continues to defend such people. But why? They know that what they are doing is wrong. They have to keep in mind that although they currently enjoy a majority in Parliament, their only job is to protect the interests of the people, not to protect their own self-interest and political gain.”

Grech said that the majority the government boasts of will eventually fade and one day justice will come knocking on their doors.

Grech then shifted focus on Konrad Mizzi where he said that the Labour government is going through the same exercise of protecting criminals. “Until the day they stop protecting him, the electorate is going to continue paying for his mistakes when that same money could be used to address the issues of the people.”

Addressing issues in the judiciary system is what Zammit Lewis’s ministry exists for, Grech said. “Because of the fact that there is not enough investment in the justice department, cases are taking long and not enough magistrates are present in the courts.”

Grech then quoted a European statistic which stated that Maltese court proceedings take 8 times longer than the European average. “Time is money, and it is no longer acceptable that people spend their precious time and money in court because of your (referring to Zammit Lewis) incompetence.”

Grech said that he spoke to court staff working in the records department who were “furious” because of the lack of staff and resources that Zammit Lewis left them with.

Grech then illustrated the effects corruption has on the lives on people who end up needing the court services. “Due to the lack of investment in this sector, people are taking ages to have their case appealed and people are not opening court cases because it is not worth their time and money. Despite all this, the Labour MP’s choose to continue to defend and invest in their own lies.”

Grech also said that the good governance minister is putting Parliament to shame when he doesn’t condemn Mizzi’s actions.

“Once again, I ask why? What does he know about the Labour MP’s? What is he going to say about the Prime Minister and the ex-Prime Minister?”

Turning to the Police Commissioner, Grech said he is concerned at how free Angelo Gafa is to take his own decisions on investigations. “Konrad Mizzi broke the law multiple times. He should have been arrested and investigated but instead he is abroad evading justice. I hope that today, unlike previous years, we do not have a police commissioner who takes orders from Castille.”

Grech called all the MP’s present to uphold the right to be called ‘Honourable’ by not protecting criminals. He also urged the government to vote in favour of the motion the Opposition put forward to force Konrad Mizzi to appear before the PAC.