Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1441473
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 JANUARY 2022 NEWS HAVE YOU HEARD? We are becoming an environmental super force Mechanical Engineers Electrical Engineers Electricians Architects Land Surveyors Quantity Surveyors Accountants Auditors Lawyers Project Managers Chemists Programmers IT Developers SCADA operators Digital and Social Media Officers Potential superheroes should submit their CV on recruitment.ws@wsm.com.mt SUPERHEROES wanted Mechanics and other highly skilled Tradesmen magistrate proposed COVID cases 762 new COVID-19 cases were registered on Saturday. A 71-year-old woman and an 89-year-old man passed away while COVID-19 positive in the last 24-hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 487. Active cases stand at 14,615 after 1,107 recoveries were reg- istered. There are currently 127 coronavirus patients being cared for at Mater Dei Hospital, of which six are in the ITU. Until Friday, 1,123,023 vaccine dos- es were administered, of which 269,052 were booster doses. Nursing union boss Paul Pace yesterday claimed a shortage of nurses had brought vaccinations to a halt across all 10 health cen- tres in Malta and Gozo. Opera- tions at the University of Malta and MCAST were not affected. The health ministry insisted that the vaccination programme had been rationalised down to the main vaccination centres. LUKE VELLA THE Nationalist Party yester- day unveiled a package of 12 legislative Bills to fight cor- ruption and mafia-style crimes that will include the creation of a special inquiring magistrate to focus solely on corruption by public officers. Opposition leader Bernard Grech yesterday accused Prime Minister Robert Abela of inac- tion on the recommendations of the Caruana Galizia pub- lic inquiry's findings and the FATF greylisting, and said the culture of impunity that al- lowed the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia still reigned under Labour. "Instead of tightening the belt on small businesses, we want control of the political class – the PN has unanimously ap- proved a package of 12 Bills to implement the public inquiry's main findings, and address is- sues of good governance." The Bills include proposals limiting government's duties and actions during an election campaign; a special inquiring magistrate to focus only on corruption investigations; the creation of a crime of procur- ing political influence, obstruc- tion of justice, and omission of duty by public officers; unex- plained wealth orders; creation of a crime for mafia association and organised crime; as well as a Bill to include a declaration in favour of journalism, to be enshrined in the Maltese Con- stitution. "Today we made history by presenting 12 acts that I'm con- fident will help Malta get out of the FATF greylisting. It is not enough to present them but they should also be enacted as soon as possible. The time for empty talk is over – we want to address issues the country has in a serious manner," Grech stated. The Office of the Prime Min- ister said in a reaction that it had already consulted with ac- ademics and journalists, as well as international institutions, to set up a committee of experts as recommended by the the public inquiry. The Daphne Foundation wel- comed the draft laws. "The proper implementation of the Inquiry's findings and recom- mendations presents an op- portunity for Malta to mature into a modern democracy and a positive example for the rest of Europe. If the process of reform is effective, we may at least have the satisfaction of knowing that Daphne's death will strengthen our country's democracy and save the lives of others." The Bills The package of 12 draft laws are built on the recommenda- tions by the public inquiry in- to the assassination of Daph- ne Caruana Galizia, and will be presented in the days to come as Parliament resumes its sittings tomorrow after the Christmas recess. The Bills are: An act that lists the duties of the government in terms of the common good. This list of duties will be enshrined in the Constitution, by making the government the guardian of rule of law, custodian of the na- tion's heritage, and a promoter of social wellbeing; An act that lists the duties of an interim government when the parliament is dissolved as at Act 76 of the Constitution, for which during this period no decision taken can bind an in- coming Cabinet; The creation of an office for a Special Inquiring Magistrate against corruption, with great powers to investigation cor- rupt acts as well as initiative investigations; A law to outlaw the use of vio- lence or threats, or the promise of money or rewards, to force others to give false testimony to a judicial or prosecutorial office, and to criminalise the obstruction of justice; A law that penalises the der- eliction of duty by a public of- ficial entrusted with upholding and enforcing the law; An act that creates a new crime for organised crime with proviso on mafia-style associa- tion; A law outlawing the illegal use by officials or public serv- ants of non-official or author- ised electronic resources; An act for unexplained wealth orders: the Criminal Court, at the request of the Attorney General, will be able to issue an unexplained wealth order on any asset, where there is a suspicion that assets or wealth were funded by a major crime, carrying the penalty of a maxi- mum nine-year sentence; The creation of a new crime for abuse of office by a public official; An act that provides better tools for the police in the in- vestigation of major crimes. The law will call for a consti- tutional amendment to allow a maximum 72-hour arrest for suspects in. the crimes of ter- rorism, homicide, money laun- dering and drug trafficking, with the authorisation of the inquiring magistrate; An act to amend the Consti- tution, enshrining the principle for the highest form of protec- tion for free, independent and impartial journalism as one of the main pillars of a country built on rule of law; An anti-SLAPP law that pro- tects journalists from 'stra- tegic lawsuits against public participation', employed by forum-shopping plaintiffs who seek to inflict maximum dam- ages on journalists with expen- sive lawsuits. lvella@mediatoday.com.mt