Repubblika demands suspension of all politicians under investigation

In a statement to mark World Anti-Corruption Day, civil society group Repubblika said all politicians under investigation for corruption should “immediately suspend themselves until their position is clarified.”

In clear reference to the various investigations involving tourism minister Konrad Mizzi, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri, Repubblika said no one was willing to shoulder any responsibility for their actions.

“Repubblika is concerned about corruption in Malta and how this has spread and captured each of our institutions and is present in every sphere of our society. Even though corruption is a fact of life, we have reached a dire point where corruption has become institutionalised. No one is willing to shoulder any responsibility for their actions, no matter how condemnable.”

In a statement issued on Saturday, Repubblika said that in the past, high level officials used to resign or suspend themselves until their name was cleared when faced with corruption allegations.

“However, what we are witnessing nowadays is institutional inaction towards those individuals facing corruption allegations, sometimes even despite concrete evidence of their wrong-doing. In other cases, we have witnessed the withholding of outcomes of investigations or inquiries with partial information used to manipulate public opinion.”

The group put forward a list of demands, including the immediate publication of the Egrant inquiry and full disclosure of the agreements which saw government privatise three state hospitals and the the contract for the building of the new power station.

Repubblika called on Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri to give an explanation as to why they were to receive €5,000 daily from 17 Black owner Yorgen Fenech, who is a shareholder in the Electrogas Consortium which built the power station.

The group has also asked the Prime Minister to “stop creating smokescreens as a distraction to escape scrutiny and responsibility for his omissions” and called on authorities to inform the public about what is being done to find the mastermind behind the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.