Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1508940
2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 OCTOBER 2023 2 NICOLE MEILAK THE Malta Employers' Associ- ation (MEA) has strongly con- demned the string of scandals such as the benefits fraud scandal and the driving license racket, adding that the Prime Minister's reactions to these scandals are, "a radical invitation to anarchy." The MEA stated this in re- lation to WhatsApp chats to a Transport Malta officer in charge of driving examinations that have revealed that former transport minister Ian Borg forwarded names of test candi- dates that had to be "taken care of" to ensure they passed their exam. In relation to this, Robert Ab- ela defended Ian Borg, stating that he was doing what was expected of him as a minis- ter. Three officials have been charged with corruption in re- lation to this racket. The MEA stated that by making such statements, Ab- ela, "encourages individuals and businesses to bypass what should be established and trusted structures to either get fast-tracked to obtain what they are eligible for, or worse, to acquire entitlements which they should never have at the expense of others." The association added that it is impossible to justify blatant- ly corrupt practices that place doubts on the safety of drivers on Maltese roads. "These abus- es," MEA said, "are helping a few for partisan interests at the expense of potentially destroy- ing many people's lives." The MEA also expressed its frustrations at the wider pic- ture, noting that when one takes into consideration the phantom jobs dished out by government, abusive dishing out of health benefits, as well as the private sector's constant calls for government transpar- ency, "one can only wonder how widespread is this culture of nepotism, and to what ex- tent corruption has been nor- malised in our society." The association concluded by saying that an apology, con- demnation of this behaviour, as well as a commitment by both political parties to step back from partisan meddling, are needed to mitigate the current situation. The MEA also called for criminal and disciplinary proceedings against those in- volved, regardless of their rank, status, or political affiliation. "Only then will we be able to steer back to a semblance of normalcy," the MEA conclud- ed. IN light of the driving license racket that shows how applicants passed their driving test despite not being competent enough to do so, the Insurance Association stated that is growing increas- ingly concerned about the num- ber of untrained drivers on the road. The association also called for Transport Malta to immediate- ly identify those who were not competent enough to pass their test but were given a license any- way, in order for them to do the test once again. The validity of the driving test procedure and the safety of all road users have come under in- tense scrutiny as a result of these reports, the insurance lobby said. The association particular- ly highlighted that unqualified drivers are more prone to cause traffic accidents, including fatal ones. "What is even of greater con- cern is that some of these un- qualified drivers may be driving taxis or heavy vehicles," the lob- by stated. The association concluded that if Transport Malta fails to act and contact those who fraud- ulently obtained their driving license, this will result in a, "se- rious drop in confidence in the validity of driving tests in Malta and a continuing unacceptable increase in risk to all road users of being involved in an accident caused by such drivers." Abela's statement on driving licence racket is an 'invitation to anarchy', MEA states Police officer suspended over benefits fraud claims discrimination Robert Abela has defended Ian Borg's partisan meddling in the driving test scandal Insurance lobby wants motorists who benefitted from driving licence racket to retake test MAT TH E W AGIUS A police constable who re- ceived undue social benefit payments is claiming that his request to be boarded out on medical grounds was ignored so that he could be suspended by the Public Ser- vice Commission, accusing the Commissioner of Police of double standards. The constable is currently awaiting charges in connec- tion with the Silvio Grixti benefits fraud racket, af- ter having received some €17,000 in social benefits for a disability which he did not actually suffer from. He is understood to have repaid the €17,000 sum to the Social Services department in full, two months ago. Around the same time, he was medically certified as suffering from a psychiatric condition and had asked to be boarded out. Normally, a medical board would be im- mediately appointed and the case assessed. But although he made the request in August, no medi- cal board was convened and no explanation for this was given, despite a number of emails to the Police Force's Human Resources depart- ment, he says. In that time the Public Ser- vice Commission had ap- proved the Commissioner of Police's recommendation that he be suspended on half- pay, where he remains to this day. In a judicial protest filed today, the constable's law- yers, Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta, contrasted the way their client was treated with that enjoyed by Inspec- tors Roderick Zammit and his brother, former inspector Daniel Zammit, sons of the former acting police com- missioner Ray Zammit. Daniel was boarded out in 2015, aged 32 and Roderick April 2016 at age 36. Both are entitled to a lifelong pension. The Zammit brothers and their father had been in busi- ness with Joseph Gaffarena, setting up a company to- gether at a time when Dan- iel Zammit was investigating and prosecuting Gaffarena's son-in-law over the sadistic murder of Joe Gaffarena's daughter's lover in 2008. Daniel Zammit was boarded out on psychiatric grounds in April 2015, only to land a €60,000 job at Enemalta – a position from which he was subsequently removed by the Energy Minister – four days later. His brother Roderick was also censured for unethi- cal behaviour and dubious ties with businessmen, was also boarded out of the force on medical grounds not long after. "For some strange reason and unlike what always hap- pens in similar cases, the Commissioner of Police re- fused to convene the Med- ical Board to hear the case, despite a psychiatrist having certified the plaintiff that he was no longer fit for police service," reads the protest. "All this clearly shows that there was nothing legal, rea- sonable or in good faith in the Commissioner of Police's failure to convene the medi- cal board….rather the Comis- sioner of Police acted in such bad faith that he kept the re- quest made by the protestant and his psychiatrist pending and ignored it on purpose so that the PSC would have time to notify him of his precau- tionary suspension." Claiming a breach of his fundamental human rights, the judicial protest informed the Commissioner and the State Advocate that they will be held liable for the damag- es suffered by the constable and asks them to "stop using different standards where it suits them and stop their dirty actions which are harm- ing his mental health." Police officer accuses Police Commissioner of double standards in judicial protest filed on Tuesday