A recent Eurobarometer survey shows that corruption is a major concern, one that requires the strengthening of authorities, the improvement of protection of whistleblowers, and top Maltese politicians to have a zero-tolerance policy.
The survey has found that 83% of Maltese believe that corruption is widespread across the Maltese islands. In contrast, 69% of respondents from other EU Member States, on average, believe corruption to be widespread in their respective countries. While this does mark a 12% reduction since this same question was posed a year prior, it is still obviously far too high.
More Maltese generally believe that corruption is present within their national public institutions than the EU average, (82% v 73% EU average) and the same is seen for within their local/regional public institutions (79% v 70% EU average)
This Special Eurobarometer found that on every listed metric, more Maltese people think that "the giving and taking of bribes and the abuse of power for personal gain" are widespread when compared to the EU average - at least half of Maltese respondents believe that such is the case among political parties (60%), among politicians at national, regional, or local levels (56%), among officials issuing building permits (58%), among officials awarding public tenders (50%). 41% believe this is the case among police and customs.
To add onto that, 23% of respondents said that they personally know someone who takes or has taken bribes. That is a ridiculously high percentage, and also proves that corruption is rampant. The government should quickly launch investigations to weed out those committing such crimes.
The countless scandals over the years have surely contributed to the perception of corruption, moreso did the instances where real action was not taken.
Some scandals over the years saw no legal action taken against high level officials, while others have seen politicians charged in court. But statements made by government officials in the wake of a number of such scandals leave much to be desired. A zero-tolerance policy when it comes to allegations of wrongdoing by those in power and public officials is needed.
Someone facing serious criminal charges should be suspended from government work, and not be allowed to continue on as if nothing happened until the case is decided. The government's decision to do otherwise sends the wrong message.
The Eurobarometer survey should serve as a wake up call for the government. More transparency should be the starting point. It should reform the Freedom of Information act in a way which further limits the ability for ministries and government agencies to reject FOI requests, and reduce the amount of time in which replies are given. There should also be harder stances taken by the government when it comes to those in public work facing allegations of wrongdoing. The police and attorney general should be more transparent about their reasons not to prosecute when such decisions are taken. These are just a few examples, there is more that needs to be done.
This Special Eurobarometer also asked respondents to outline some possible reasons behind why people may decide against reporting a case of corruption.
The most common answer amongst Maltese was that "there is no protection from retaliation for those who report corruption, including in the work context". This is something that needs to be rectified. Better protection for whistleblowers is needed. The next most common reason amongst Maltese was that reporting such a case would be pointless as those responsible would not be punished, narrowly followed by fear that "those who report cases get into trouble with the police or with other authorities." It is clear that there is a lack of trust that action against those who are allegedly committing corruption will be taken.
The law introduced by the government to restrict the opening of magisterial inquiries was a step in the wrong direction, and reduces avenues for those who do not have faith in the police force to seek action. That decision should be reversed.