The Standards Commissioner has been asked to investigate the role played by Foreign Minister Ian Borg in a driving licence racket.
Borg was Transport Minister at the time recommendations were being made for prospective drivers to pass their driving test.
The Sunday Times of Malta reports that a Transport Malta racket to help candidates obtain a driving licence leads straight to minister Borg and his trusted workers.
WhatsApp chats obtained by Times of Malta show Borg, a minister’s canvasser, and his ministry personnel regularly piled pressure on Transport Malta’s director of licensing Clint Mansueto to "help" candidates at different stages of the licensing process.
A customer care official from the Prime Minister's office, as well as the Prime Minister's personal assistant and the Gozo Minister's chief of staff also passed on the names of candidates, The Times reports.
Hundreds of candidates were passed on to Mansueto to have their tests fast-tracked and even for "help" to secure a driving licence, it said, adding that chats show how some candidates would be advised not to allow their driving instructor to be present in the car during the practical exam, to facilitate the scheme.
Following the report, independent candidate Arnold Cassola asked the Standards Commissioner to investigate Borg’s role.
This minister “endangered the life of thousands of drivers and pedestrians by recommending and ordering his subordinate Clint Mansueto to enable candidates taking the driving test to pass when they were unable to do so without the minister’s help”.
This also constituted abuse of power, Cassola said, adding that Borg is refusing to explain his role in this racket.
Despite having the chat logs in their possession for well over a year, the police have not prosecuted any of the individuals who texted Mansueto to help specific test candidates, the Times reports, as over 11 government and Transport Malta officials showed knowledge of the scheme.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Robert Abela dismissed the revelations as “regurgitated” when contacted by Times of Malta. The spokesman said Abela has nothing to add to his declaration last year that no government officials were under investigation.
ADPD calls for Ian Borg's resignation
ADPD issued a statement saying that Minister Ian Borg's position is compromised and not acceptable.
ADPD Chairperson Sandra Gauci said that her party is calling for the immediate resignation of Borg. "The country needs ministers it can trust, and not people buried in criminal practices and vote buying practices."
The party said that this is another attack on democracy and another nail in the coffin of public trust in those who lead them.
The party said that the Police Commissioner needs to explain why, "despite the police knowing for a year about the allegation regarding Minister Borg's involvement in the license scandal, they have done nothing."
Gauci said that yet again, Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa and the Police Force have rendered themselves "a shield for the dirt in Robert Abela's cabinet."