Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1186350
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 20 NOVEMBER 2019 NEWS ANALYSIS JAMES DEBONO ADDRESSING the party faith- ful on Sunday on the morning of yet another protest asking for the resignation of his chief of staff, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat chose not to ignore the elephant in the room and gave a legal explanation on why he is still waiting for the conclusion of a magisterial inquiry to determine Keith Schembri's fate. This is probably a recogni- tion that the decision by his chief of staff to drop a libel he had himself filed against Si- mon Busuttil to avoid answer- ing questions on his relation- ship with offshore company 17 Black, left many including Labour voters, baffled. For in this particular episode of the long winded saga, Schem- bri came across as someone un- willing to man up and defend his own name, after promising to do exactly that when Busuttil called him corrupt. Moreover legalisms on Schembri prejudicing his po- sition in the on-going inquiry inevitably raised the question; would anyone who has nothing to hide have any reason to avoid questions in a public court? To address these concerns, Muscat presented a strong legalistic argument, which effectively postpones his de- cision on whether Schembri should resign or not to after the publication of a magiste- rial inquiry commenced last year after revelations by the Daphne project in November last year, that power station investor Jorgen Fenech is the owner of 17 Black, a Dubai based offshore company which included Schembri as one of its clients. It was only in April 2019 that magistrate Doreen Clarke ruled that the inquiry into the Panama Papers and the actions of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri was to be in- cluded in the inquiry started last year by Magistrate Char- maine Galea into allegations surrounding 17 Black. A similar request for an in- quiry into the Panama Papers made after the 2017 election had been accepted but was eventually thrown out follow- ing appeals by Schembri and Mizzi. Therefore the inquiry would have to establish wheth- er criminal investigations should be commenced against Schembri and the other pro- tagonists of the case. Muscat contends that Schembri found himself in a situation where, if he replied to the questions in court, the on-going inquiry could have been prejudiced and under- mined. It is the inquiry, not the libel suit withdrawn by Schembri, which would bring to light "all the facts" accord- ing to Muscat. Muscat is right in saying that it is the inquiry and not the li- bel case withdrawn by Schem- bri which will determine whether Schembri should face criminal prosecution or not. While there is a degree of consistency and logic to Mus- cat's legal argumentation, it fails to address the political aspect and deliberately con- fuses hard evidence on 17 Black with the nebulous alle- gations surrounding egrant. Here are four reasons why Muscat's legalistic interpreta- tion remains politically ques- tionable. 1. 17 Black is not Egrant On Sunday Muscat drew parallels with the Egrant saga, arguing that he had acted in the same way when it came to "the invented story about Michelle and I." In the Egrant case, time had proved him right, he said. But the comparison does not hold water. No hard evidence was ever provided to back the claim that egrant belonged to Muscat or his wife. On the other Schembri never denied that he was the owner of a secret company set up after 2013. Moreover Dubai company 17 Black was named as a "target client" of the Panama companies set up for Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi. In April Schembri him- self had acknowledged that 17 Black and Macbridge were in- cluded in draft business plans for his business group as po- tential clients while insisting that no transactions were ever recorded with these compa- nies. Neither has Jorgen Fenech denied being the owner of 17 Black. While these facts do not amount to proof that Schem- bri is corrupt, on their own they raise questions on Schembri's political tenabil- ity especially in the sensitive role of chief of staff of the Prime Minister. For inevita- bly people keep asking; why on earth should the Chief of Staff of a Prime Minister set up a secret company in Pana- ma which was in some sort of commercial relationship with a company owned by one of the country's most powerful businessman? By drawing parallels by egrant, Muscat is intelligently exploiting the greatest weak- ness of the opposition under Busuttil; that of raising the stakes too high and relying on unverified claims in what peo- ple interpreted as a shortcut to power. But in this case, so far the evidence pointing towards political impropriety exists. Moreover the egrant episode itself, suggests Muscat's own revulsion at being named as an owner of a secret company. Yet the same Muscat seems perfectly at ease at having his closest aide doing business through secret companies. 2. Muscat is once again confusing legal and politi- cal correctness. Muscat may well be hoping that despite the political im- propriety of Schembri's busi- ness set ups, the magisterial inquiry-which will depend on evidence from Dubai which is renowned for its secrecy, won't find anything which in- criminates Schembri. Such a conclusion will be inevitably used to vindicate On Schembri, Muscat may be legally Four reasons why Joseph Muscat's legalese justifying his inaction on Keith Schembri after dropping the 17 Black libel suit, falls short of addressing the wider issue of political responsibility for Labour's biggest scandal Operational Programme I – European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 ANNOUNCEMENT Business Enhance ERDF Grant Schemes Open Rolling Calls – Cut-off dates Operational Programme I – Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 Fostering a competitive and sustainable economy to meet our challenges The Measures and Support Division within the Ministry for European Affairs and Equality, designated by the Managing Authority for Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 as the Intermediate Body responsible for administering aid schemes for enterprises under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2014 – 2020, would like to announce further cut-off dates for the submission of applications under the Business Enhance ERDF Grant Schemes initiative. The Intermediate Body notifies that as of January 2020 the cut-off dates for Calls under the following ERDF Grant Schemes shall be as outlined hereunder: • Noon of Friday, 31st January 2020 • Noon of Friday, 28th February 2020 • Noon of Monday, 30th March 2020 Call 1 – e-Commerce Grant Scheme Call 1 – SME Internationalisation Grant Scheme Further cut-off dates for the ERDF Grant Schemes shall be published at a later date. Information sessions will be organised for prospective applicants periodically and dates and venues will be notified accordingly. Any information on these calls including the respective Guidance Notes and the Guidelines for Implementation, as well as on the information sessions may be obtained from https://businessenhance.gov.mt. Operational Programme I – European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 "Fostering a competitive and sustainable economy to meet our challenges" Advert part-financed by the European Regional and Development Fund Co-financing rate: Public Eligible (80% European Union; 20% National Funds) ANNOUNCEMENT Business Enhance ERDF Grant Schemes Open Rolling Calls – Cut-off dates Operational Programme I – Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 Fostering a competitive and sustainable economy to meet our challenges The Measures and Support Division within the Ministry for European Affairs and Equality, designated by the Managing Authority for Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 as the Intermediate Body responsible for administering aid schemes for enterprises under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2014 – 2020, would like to announce further cut-off dates for the submission of applications under the Business Enhance ERDF Grant Schemes initiative. The Intermediate Body notifies that as of January 2020 the cut-off dates for Calls under the following ERDF Grant Schemes shall be as outlined hereunder: • Noon of Friday, 31st January 2020 • Noon of Friday, 28th February 2020 • Noon of Monday, 30th March 2020 Call 1 – e-Commerce Grant Scheme Call 1 – SME Internationalisation Grant Scheme Further cut-off dates for the ERDF Grant Schemes shall be published at a later date. Information sessions will be organised for prospective applicants periodically and dates and venues will be notified accordingly. Any information on these calls including the respective Guidance Notes and the Guidelines for Implementation, as well as on the information sessions may be obtained from https://businessenhance.gov.mt. ANNOUNCEMENT Business Enhance ERDF Grant Schemes Open Rolling Calls – Cut-off dates Operational Programme I – Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 Fostering a competitive and sustainable economy to meet our challenges The Measures and Support Division within the Ministry for European Affairs and Equality, designated by the Managing Authority for Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 as the Intermediate Body responsible for administering aid schemes for enterprises under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2014 – 2020, would like to announce further cut-off dates for the submission of applications under the Business Enhance ERDF Grant Schemes initiative. The Intermediate Body notifies that as of January 2020 the cut-off dates for Calls under the following ERDF Grant Schemes shall be as outlined hereunder: • Noon of Friday, 31st January 2020 • Noon of Friday, 28th February 2020 • Noon of Monday, 30th March 2020 Call 1 – e-Commerce Grant Scheme Call 1 – SME Internationalisation Grant Scheme Further cut-off dates for the ERDF Grant Schemes shall be published at a later date. Information sessions will be organised for prospective applicants periodically and dates and venues will be notified accordingly. Any information on these calls including the respective Guidance Notes and the Guidelines for Implementation, as well as on the information sessions may be obtained from https://businessenhance.gov.mt. Keith Schembri dropped a libel suit he had filed against Simon Busuttil to avoid answering questions on 17 Black