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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 JULY 2024 Why Edward Scicluna should step down Editorial EDWARD Scicluna is correct when he says there is no legal obligation for him to resign just because he has been charged in court. He is also correct when he says that neither the gov- ernment nor the Opposition can force him out. The Central Bank of Malta Act states: "The Governor and the Deputy Governors may be relieved of their office only if they no longer ful- fil the conditions required for the performance of their duties or if they have been guilty of se- rious misconduct." This means that Scicluna would have to be found guilty to be removed from governor. The same holds for his position on the European Central Bank's governing council. This legal proviso is intended to protect the independence of the CBM and its highest of- ficials. It also serves as a deterrent against spu- rious or false accusations that may be levelled towards the CBM's top officials by third parties who may have ulterior motives. Scicluna was charged with several crimes that suggest dereliction of duty as finance minister between 2015 and 2020 in connection with the Vitals hospitals privatisation deal. Last Wednesday, the court ruled there was enough evidence for Scicluna and others to stand trial. Scicluna is pleading not guilty. Scicluna, like former deputy prime minister Chris Fearne, is claiming that he was not privy to arrangements between then minister Kon- rad Mizzi and Vitals, later to become Steward. The Auditor General also testified that an in- vestigation into the deal by the National Audit Office found no wrongdoing on Scicluna's and Fearne's part. It also has to be noted that Scicluna is not the only member of the ECB to be facing on- going criminal procedures related to alleged misdeeds before their time as ECB members. The justification for not resigning is always the same – until a case is definitely decided, no- body can force them out. It is necessary to understand this context be- fore proceeding to pass judgement on Sciclu- na's decision to push back against calls for his resignation. Nobody can remove Scicluna at this stage but this does not mean he is above criticism. Scicluna knows that the charges he is facing are not spurious. Neither were they levelled by a third party that may have an ulterior motive to undermine him and the CBM. Scicluna knows that the charges he faces were the result of a magisterial inquiry that took more than four years to investigate the differ- ent facets of the hospitals deal. He knows that this deal was so rotten that the civil court last year struck it down. The accusations he faces may not be the most serious among all those that are to stand trial in this case but they are nonetheless serious enough to warrant the resignation of Chris Fearne from deputy prime minister, the Cabi- net and now even deputy leader of the Labour Party. Scicluna knows full well that with this grey cloud hanging over his head it is the country's reputation that could be put at risk. It may be unfair for the country to suffer the consequenc- es of one man's behaviour but whether we like it or not, Malta is a small country and if push comes to shove on the international stage, it al- ways stands to lose. We've already been through this when Mal- ta was placed on the FATF greylist. Scicluna of all people knows what painstaking efforts were done for Malta to exit the greylist after just 12 months. The national interest is at stake. By refusing to step down he is unfortunately allowing self-in- terest to prevail. Nonetheless, there is one other aspect, which may seem a minor detail that cannot be over- looked. Scicluna has not denied having sent a message to Labour delegates in which he de- fended his decision to stay put while framing the whole affair as an attempt by the National- ists to bring him down. The CBM governor was given the opportunity to deny such a claim but he skirted the issue and would neither confirm nor deny. Such a message from the governor to dele- gates of a political party belies the very notion of independence that the law seeks to imbue on the CBM's top officials. If anything, this is another reason why Sciclu- na must step down. The former finance minister has every right to defend himself in court but he should carry out that battle as a private citizen and not as governor of the Central Bank. Quote of the Week "Public procurement procedures show high risks of corruption." An assessment made by the European Commission in its Rule of Law report on Malta, which was released as part of an EU-wide annual exercise carried out by the Brussels executive to monitor the state of the rule of law across all member states. MaltaToday 10 years ago 20 July 2014 19 migrants die in latest boat tragedy 80 miles off Lampedusa UP to 19 persons are thought to have died in the latest tragedy involving migrants, as a boat carrying asylum seekers found itself in difficulties around 80 miles from Lampe- dusa. The government believes that a stampede before or during the transfer of the migrants to a merchant vessel caused their death. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat broke the news while attending the Maratona Ohloq Tbissima in Sta Venera yesterday morning. "In recent hours yet another tragedy oc- curred outside our shores, when six boats carrying migrants were detected. "One of the boats faced some difficulties and a number of dead bodies will be brought in to Malta while an infant who tragically died will be taken to Italy with his parents who are still alive," Muscat said. According to the Prime Minister, the un- confirmed number of deaths is of between 12 and 15. Government sources told MaltaToday that the infant was among the dead, howev- er the total number of victims could not yet be confirmed. The rescued migrants are be- ing transferred to Italy, while the dead bod- ies, apart from the infant's, will be brought to Malta. The authorities were alerted by a mer- chant ship and it is thought that the incident happened while the asylum seekers were be- ing transferred on to another vessel. Although the incident happened inside Malta's search and rescue area, Lampedusa was the closest port of call.