On Tuesday evening, #occupyjustice activists sent a message to Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa’ asking him to “wake up” from his permanent slumber and arrest the “true traitors of Malta”, following Monday’s Appeal Court ruling confirming “the suspicion that the intention behind the concession to VGH/Steward was not the improvement of medical services but to serve as an instrument to flow money from the country’s coffers to the pockets of VGH/Steward.”
This was a corrupt, fraudulent deal and in a normal country there would have been resignations, at the very least. Yet, once again in his not-so-illustrious career, our Police Commissioner has failed to take any action, Occupy Justice said.
The Court of Appeal on Monday dismissed Steward Healthcare's appeal against the decision to annul the hospitals privatisation deal. Last February, a court of law had ruled that the deal which saw the transfer of three hospitals to the private sector as being fraudulent and ordered their return to the public.
On Tuesday, activists hung a banner on the main gate of the police headquarters urging the commissioner to “wake up” and later also protested on the steps leading to the Prime Minister’s Office, carrying a banner with photos of former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, former Health Minister Konrad Mizzi and former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri with the words “true traitors of Malta”.
On his appointment, Commissioner Gafa’ gave his word that he would be totally independent and would not allow any politician to influence his work. Yet, we are still waiting to see any concrete steps being taken on this or any other corruption-riddled scandal we have witnessed within the higher echelons of government over the past ten years. #occupyjustice wants to send Gafa’ a clear message:
“Wake up and do your job. Protect the public from the false representatives of the people who have colluded with white collar criminals, with the sole objective of robbing the electorate blind. Polish your badge and prosecute the real traitors of the Maltese people.”
In the meantime, we are once again reminded that Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was the first journalist to expose the fraudulent hospitals deal, was right, and we are still waiting to see justice for her and for her stories. #occupyjustice cannot stand by and let this injustice, among many others, fade into oblivion.
We demand that Commissioner Gafa’ take action, starting with the arrests of Joseph Muscat, Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, so that Malta’s once-good reputation may start the journey towards restoration after years of filth.
