Earlier this week all of us could see another phase of Joseph’s earthquake. Magistrate Leonard Caruana decreed, in Court, that the defendants in the criminal inquiry he was presiding over have to answer to a number of criminal charges.
At this stage all of them are deemed innocent. However enough evidence has been collected that it is clear that there is a case for them to answer. Consequently, Magistrate Leonard Caruana concluded that there is enough evidence for the accused to face a criminal trial.
The defendants this week included the two former Ministers, Chris Fearne and Edward Scicluna, as well as thirteen others, primarily civil servants (present and former) as well as a number of lawyers.
Joseph’s earthquake is slowly unfolding before our own eyes. We are witnessing the Labour Party’s moral bankruptcy. This is Joseph’s major contribution to Maltese politics.
Ever since the Court of Appeal declared that the hospitals’ deal was tainted, and moreover that there was collusion between Vitals/Stewards and senior government officials, it was only a question of time that further investigations would seek to identify who exactly did what. The individual contributions had a determining impact on the mess we are now faced with.
Some of those accused have publicly emphasized that they did nothing wrong. All pleaded that they are not guilty as charged. Some of them further emphasized that they did not help themselves by dipping their hands in public coffers.
However, it is not only those who were directly involved in the issues at hand who can be identified as an integral part of the developing fraud. Whether it is in Dubai or elsewhere, in their own name or in the name of close relatives, they all have to shoulder responsibility.
In addition, it is also those who have advised on how best to develop the hospital scam that have a case to answer.
Even those who had the authority to stop the pillage and did nothing: they have a case to answer as to why they failed to carry out their duty.
And what about those who signed the cheques or authorized the transfer of funds, when they were aware of the toxicity of the deal?
The criminal cases currently developing are as much about fraud, fraudulent gain and money laundering as they are about good governance and the ethical behaviour of the civil service. It is also about the collective responsibility of Cabinet as much as it is about the direct responsibility of each individual minister.
Irrespective of the outcome of the criminal cases, Chris Fearne, who resigned from his ministerial responsibilities as soon as he was criminally charged, has earned the respect of one and all. This contrasts to the irresponsible behaviour of Edward Scicluna who as Governor of the Central Bank, apparently, believes, that he is exempted from the basic rules of common decency.
Edward Scicluna is being consistent with his previous behaviour as a Minister. In another contribution in these columns entitled Edward Scicluna has no b***s (TMIS: 16 August 2020) referring to his testimony at the Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination inquiry I had stated that: “Through his own testimony he depicts himself as a spineless Minister of Finance, weak, soft and cowardly, incapable of acting decisively in the face of abuse. As a result, he ends up certifying himself as not being capable to shoulder his responsibilities as a Minister.” He is bent on confirming this description at every opportunity.
Notwithstanding government’s ultimatum to resign by next Tuesday from Central Bank Governor, at the time of writing Scicluna is still in place. He is still in denial that he owes a minimum of basic respect to the institutions he sought to serve. He owes it to the country to ensure that he does not cause further reputational damage to the national institutions and to our country. At this point, following Chris Fearne’s example is the only decent thing to do.
An architect and civil engineer, the author is a former Chairperson of ADPD-The Green Party in Malta. [email protected] , http://carmelcacopardo.wordpress.com