Corruption has been an abhorrent feature of all societies since time immemorial. It will persist as long as humanity maintains its dominant role on this planet of ours. Some countries accept it as being a natural accompaniment to governance. On the other extreme there are countries, such as China, which try to deal with it with an iron fist. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Chinese government officials have been executed for having been found guilty of corrupt acts. The fact that people are ready to literally lose their lives rather than lose an opportunity to make a quick buck is indicative of the difficulty involved in trying to eradicate it.
There was a time, not too long ago, when corruption was an accepted fact even in our country. You had to pay that little something extra if you wanted ‘luxuries’ such as a telephone line or a colour television set. If you needed a building permit, import licence, a job… even a gravesite, the people you had to approach with a closed envelope were known to all and sundry.
Thankfully, those times are over. The number of bribery cases which have been brought to light in the past years coupled with the number of convictions of officials found guilty of corruption are surely a strong dis-incentive to anyone considering using his position to further himself illicitly. It would, however, be naïve of us to think that this country of ours, or any other country for that matter, is ever going to rid itself of this blight.
It is a pity that our Opposition seems to have resigned itself to the fact that it must mask its total lack of political vision and policies and hide its internecine squabbles by cooking up one story after another of ministerial corruption. Throw enough mud and some of it is bound to stick. Pity. The political class as a whole is being shown in a bad light. Labourite politicians themselves are being affected by this negative perception. People tend to generalise.
Alfred Sant was President of the Malta Labour Party in the bad old days when corruption was institutionalised. Had he suggested that the government of the day take a stand and do its best to eradicate the sleaze that was rife at all levels, he would have risked unravelling the whole framework that was shoring up a government which chose to rule these islands for five years and three months against the express wishes of the majority of the electorate. A government elected by corrupt practices, in fact. He would probably have been hounded out of the party. Or worse.
Government has been doing its best to give Malta the tools it needs to avoid us sinking back into the mire that typified our society in those days. The latest development in this respect is the introduction of the Whistleblower Act which gives full protection to anyone uncovering corrupt officials. A number of people implicated in cases of bribery have been taken to court in recent months. It is a pity that, due to the slant this fact is given by the Malta Labour Party, many are regarding this as a sign of widespread and uncontrolled corruption. Should we sweep these cases under the carpet and pretend that Malta is the exception that proves the rule, that we are the only society on the planet totally devoid of corruption? Should we go back to the days when we just ignored or, even worse, accepted corruption as being a fact of life?
Perhaps it’s about time we stepped back and saw the big picture. Our country would not have progressed in leaps and bounds in the past two decades if corruption had as strong a part to play in the everyday running of the country as Labour would have us believe.
It is however a pity that government is ignoring the effect the Opposition’s negativity is having on the way it is perceived. A pity because the perception being built is unjust. A pity because it could very well lead to us having a party in government elected mainly due to false promises and mudslinging. The last time that happened we ended up with a lame duck administration that only lasted for a few months. Government must resign itself to the fact that opposition campaigns in the months leading up to any election, general, local or otherwise, will be based on false allegations and negativity. It must not dismiss these tactics as being merely a nuisance. It must react to them in a collective, immediate and clear way.
The people deserve to be assured that they are living in a country where corruption is completely unacceptable and is regarded as being such by the government of the day.

www.jeffreypullicinoorlando.com