In a statement issued on Saturday, the Malta Chamber of Commerce saluted the President of the Republic, Dr George Vella on his powerful address to the nation on the occasion of Republic Day.
“The Chamber holds strongly that it was crime not business that led the country to its present predicament. The business community and its employees will however bear the huge cost of abusive behaviour of some in the years to come” the statement said.
The Chamber expressed its disgust about how those in positions of power abused their authority to promote, facilitate and conspire in criminal activity, and do so under the guise of being pro-business. “The business community stands steadfast with the President when he said that Malta is far bigger than the “gang of people” who have brought shame on the country.”
The Chamber also shared His Excellency’s hope that all those who had to shoulder the responsibility for their behaviours would do so and pay the consequences whoever they may be, because the actions they committed “cannot, ever, be justified”.
“In the past years and months the Chamber has expressed publicly and privately its unremitting belief in the three main pillars of good governance, (1) Accountability, (2) Transparency and (3) The Rule of Law. It commits to provide its active input and support to the reforms that must be undertaken to ensure that these three pillars are restored and upheld in the future Malta” the Chamber noted.
To this end, the Chamber said that in the coming days, it would be meeting the President of the Republic in an effort to express its concern on the national situation and to express outright and unequivocal condemnation of all corrupt practices and criminal activities driven by people close to power and money, as well as any attempts to delay or obstruct justice, mitigate criminal liability and negate political responsibility on the part of politicians and political appointees who are directly or indirectly implicated.
“The Chamber is committed to ensure that Malta’s name prevails above the criminal actions of some and that the country is a worthy flag-bearer of transparent, ethical and professional standards across all levels and in all walks of life” the Press Release concluded.
