Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government, Owen Bonnici, has told the audience of the UNCAC Review visit, that corruption is institutionally and legislatively combated in Malta.
The Minister explained that Malta has formed a number of bodies responsible for fighting corruption as well as a wealth of legislation to fight corruption.
Among those mentioned were the Code of Ethics holding people in public positions to account as well as the Financing of Political Party Act which focuses on making the funding of political parties transparent and those donating accountable.
The minister was addressing the delegations from the United Nations, Switzerland and South Africa, who are set to spend two and a half days reviewing Malta’s implementation of the UNCAC guidelines on corruption.
Bonnici explained that Malta’s framework and guidelines were shaped from its adoption of the National Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy, a decade previous.
The Minister extended his appreciation to UNCAC for holding Malta in high esteem for its work in combating corruption and that for the country to improve, it needs to learn from others.
‘Corruption is one of the worst enemies of democracy, economy and sustainable developmentas it jeopardises the safety of society, weakens democracy, increases inequalities, slows down economic development and erodes the rule of law.’, the Minister said.
