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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 APRIL 2024 Of presidential pardons and electoral considerations Editorial PRESIDENTIAL pardons are always con- troversial. They are inherently unfair be- cause people who did wrong end up not paying for the crime they committed. However, apart from cases when a pardon may be justified on humanitarian grounds, there may be instances when a pardon is needed to secure the conviction of the big- ger fish. The presidential pardon granted to the hundreds of people who fraudulently ben- efitted from the social benefits racket mas- terminded by former Labour MP Silvio Grixti appears to be a mix of both. To benefit from the pardon, the indi- viduals concerned have to pay back the ill-gotten gains or enter into a repayment programme with the government. Addi- tionally, they are bound to testify against the organisers of this corrupt scheme that cost taxpayers around €6 million. The two conditions attached to the par- don are necessary because they somehow mitigate the unfairness such an amnesty creates towards law-abiding honest tax- payers. The repayment condition allows the State to recover the money it was de- frauded but it must be underlined that what these people did was wrong. They knowingly received benefits they were never entitled to with some cheekily stating in their application that they had to give up their driving licence when this was evidently not the case. And if some of these people feel they were misled by the mas- terminds of the fraudulent scheme, they should redirect their anger towards those who led them down the rabbit hole. Nonetheless, there are two issues arising from this pardon that require some reflec- tion. The first issue concerns the condition that requires the beneficiaries to testify. This leader hopes that the Attorney Gen- eral has the legal instruments and willing- ness to seek the withdrawal of the pardon if beneficiaries start to forget names and details when they are asked to testify. This is not a far-fetched scenario since we have already witnessed this happening in different circumstances during the HSBC heist proceedings. In these criminal pro- ceedings, a convicted criminal was offered a plea bargain agreement that ensured he got a lower jail term in exchange for testi- fying against his co-accused. But when the time came, he refused to testify, leaving the prosecution high and dry. The condition that pardoned benefi- ciaries must testify against the organisers of the racket appears good on paper and makes for good PR to sugar the bitter pill honest citizens have to swallow. However, we hope the condition will be legally en- forceable without complications if the in- dividuals involved suddenly get a bout of amnesia in court or simply refuse to tell all. The second issue concerns the timing of this amnesty. The government may argue that it was timed to coincide with the court decision that Silvio Grixti and his associ- ates should be formally indicted as the case against them continues. However, such a decision taken less than two months before European and local council elections raises eyebrows. It is pret- ty evident that the Labour Party was under pressure since most of the beneficiaries hailed from Labour-leaning constituencies. We just hope that electoral considerations were not part of the equation when Cabi- net discussed the pardon because it would undermine any legitimate justification for the amnesty. A third issue, unrelated to the pardon itself, is the strength of the prosecution against Grixti and his associates. It has been made clear by the government that the presidential pardon will not apply to those who organised the corrupt scheme and this leader hopes this will remain so. But we also expect the police and the Attorney General to have built a solid case against the accused that will lead to conviction. It would be unacceptable if the prosecution fumbles and allows the accused to get off the hook on a technicality or lack of proof. Additionally, the police must also in- vestigate whether there were others who were not directly involved in the fraud but knowingly referred people to Grixti and his associates to secure their political support even though they did not qualify for ben- efits. Quote of the Week "I would not take that decision." Equality Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg when asked whether she would engage someone who is facing charges of sexual harassment after former Transport Malta official Clint Axisa was reinstated at Infrastructure Malta despite ongoing court proceedings. MaltaToday 10 years ago 27 April 2014 Private companies irked at Transport Malta direct order TRANSPORT Malta's decision to award a service concession for a floating dock in the Grand Harbour without issuing a call for tender or an expression of interest has irked a number of companies which would have submitted a bid had the authority issued a public call. This week, the controversial decision was the subject of a judicial protest filed by a pri- vate company against Transport Malta exec- utive chairman James Piscopo. The company, Woman In Management Ltd, filed a judicial protest against Transport Malta chairman James Piscopo and demand- ed that the concession awarded to Melita Shipyard Ltd is repealed since it is in breach of competition laws as determined by the Euro- pean Court of Justice. MaltaToday is also informed that an- other firm filed an official complaint with transport minister Joe Mizzi, however ques- tions sent to the ministry to confirm this remained unanswered before going to print. However, the ministry said that Mizzi was "continuously aware and informed dur- ing the ongoing negotiations between Trans- port Malta and Melita Shipyard Ltd." Moreover, the ministry said that Pis- copo and chief operating officer Joe Dega- briele represented Transport Malta during negotiations. The ministry spokesperson added: "such agreements do not need to be sanctioned by parliament". MaltaToday is informed that Woman In Management Ltd, directed by Alexia King and Tracy Vella, was interested in teaming up with a foreign company had Transport Malta issued a call for tender. In its judicial protest, the company ex- plained that it only got to know about the concession after MaltaToday revealed details of the direct order on 13 April." ...