Opposition Leader Bernard Grech on Monday accused the Prime Minister of being compromised over his failure to remove two ministers found guilty of ethical breaches.
Addressing Parliament on the budget debate related to the Office of the Prime Minister, Grech again referred to the case involving ministers Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri, both of whom were found guilty of a breach of ethics after Bartolo’s partner, now wife, was given a consultancy job without having the necessary qualifications.
Grech said the government was mired in fraud and he insisted that the Prime Minister was responsible for this.
When the two ministers chose to stay on after they were found guilty of ethical breaches, Prime Minister should have dismissed them but instead he continues to defend their behaviour, Grech said. Saying sorry is not enough, he said in reference to Bartolo’s apology.
The Standards Commissioner found that both ministers had breached ethics, a report that was unanimously adopted by parliament’s ethics committee last week. The committee is set to meet again on Wednesday.
Abela’s own ministers are holding him at ransom because they know things about him, Grech said, adding the country was yearning for change.
Grech mentioned the recent criminal case in which a former public official was found guilty by the courts of embezzling public funds. “For ordinary workers the law works; the police charged this official but when it comes to ministers, they go free,” Grech said.
The government is tired, lacks direction and is out of ideas, so much so that it is hiring foreigners to help out, he said with reference to government’s Vision 2050 exercise.
“There is one thing this government excels in – fraud. They get irked when we use this word; they do not want us to tell them this is a government mired in fraud. But truth hurts and is the truth that will set this country and its people free from the government’s fraud and corruption,” Grech said.
He said that the government is trying to silence the PN but not through a libel, rather via the Speaker, with reference to the breach of privilege complaint filed this morning by Justice Minister Jonathan Attard and parliamentary secretary Andy Ellul. “So long as we keep on speaking the truth, we will not be silenced,” he said.
Grech explained that fraud happens when people’s money, which should be used for the common good, is taken for personal use, just as Ministers Clayton Bortolo and Clint Camilleri did. He pointed out that similar terms including “fraud against the Maltese people” were issued in the sentencing of the Vitals scandal, adding that the government is yet to return the people’s money since, “for them millions are like peacakes.”
“We expect them to resign [the ministers] and the people are still waiting for them to resign,” Grech said.
Grech said that this fraud is “frequent” and went on to sketch out various scandals involving fraud such as Identita’, driving test and social benefits scandals amongst others. He said that the “common thread” throughout these scandals is Abela since they happened in during legislation and “with his blessing”. He stressed that the Labour government “doesn’t believe in accountability” and prefers to favour itself over the people
AT the beginning of his speech, Grech pointed out the Prime Minister’s absence during the time allocated to the Opposition, describing it as “arrogance par excellence”. He said that the country has an “absent” and “weak” PM with no ideas on how to help the Malta move forward.
Grech said that the people not only want but deserve an OPM with the “highest standards” with a prime minister that is accountable to the people.
