In his visit to Malta Pope Francis had called on the authorities to step up the fight against corruption, foster honesty in politics and refrain from forging ahead with uncontrolled development.

“Honesty, justice, a sense of duty and transparency are the essential pillars of a mature civil society. May your commitment to eliminate illegality and corruption be strong, like the north wind that sweeps the coasts of this country,” the pope said in a speech at the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta. 

A few months down the line it seems very little has changed on the ground on all fronts. The latest scandal has to do with an allegation that a member of Cabinet and various Transport Malta officials were allegedly involved in a racket whereby select candidates would pass their driving licence test. What is even more worrying is the fact that this abuse was allegedly coming with the minister’s blessing as one of the accused claimed that he was pressured to help certain people as they were working at the minister’s villa. While by the time of writing the identity of the minister was not revealed, the officials facing these criminal charges have been suspended. Though it is not our intention to enter into the merits of the case, any politician under a cloud of such serious allegations should feel bound to come forward and step aside until their name is cleared. Unfortunately, so far there is little indication that this will be the case. These double standards will only serve to reinforce the public perception that there is a law for the gods and a law for the animals.

This case came to light on the same day that a court acquitted a former official of the Foundation for Tomorrow Schools – a State entity – of bribery due to a technicality. It transpired that the accused had been wrongly described by the prosecution as a public official, whereas he was not. Hence, the court had no other option but to find the accused not guilty and did not even enter into the merits of the case. This was not an isolated case. Some weeks ago two lawyers were acquitted of trying to bribe a journalist due to a technicality from the prosecution. In view of this the question beckons. Is this just a question of incompetence or is there more than meets the eye?

A year ago a set of recommendations had been put forward as a result of the public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. To date only a handful have been taken on board. The consequences of doing nothing will spell trouble as it provides fertile ground for corruption, trading in influence, nepotism, conflict of interest and revolving doors between the public and the private sectors. As long as public perception will be that money can rectify all sorts of misdeeds, there is little hope that the situation will improve.