Malta's opposition demands dismissal of officials after corruption allegations

Thousands of Maltese took to the streets on Sunday afternoon to demand the dismissal of two government officials who allegedly involved in a corruption scandal.

The protest was organized by the Nationalist Party (PN), the archipelago's opposition, after Malta's Minister for Energy and Health Konrad Mizzi and the chief of staff at the Office of the Prime Minister, Keith Schembri, were found to own trusts in New Zealand and set up secret companies in Panama.

Addressing a crowd carrying Malta's red and white national flags and placards at Valletta's main street, the opposition leader Simon Busuttil called on Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to sack both Mizzi and Schembri.

Busuttil also urged the police to investigate any government contract which Mizzi and Schembri had handled without further delay.

"In Muscat's place, I would have told Mizzi and Schembri to leave. What are you waiting for to fire minister Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri. If Muscat does not throw him out, then the public will", Busuttil said.

The opposition leader said this was not simply a crisis of corruption, but a crisis of morality.

Last month, Maltese blogger and independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia revealed Mizzi and Schembri each owned a trust in New Zealand and held a company in Panama. Enditem