PHILIPSBUR:G:--- An explosive dossier responding to parliamentary questions has revealed sweeping violations and a culture of disregard for the law within the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (TEATT). The public transportation licensing process has been laid bare as plagued by lawlessness, procedural abuse, and a near-total absence of accountability.
The most damning revelations center on the issuance of taxi licenses in 2023 under the tenure of former Minister Arthur Leo Lambriex. Despite a formal moratorium in place since 2014 (extended in 2019 for T and G plates), the Ministry issued new licenses in clear violation of the law. Notably, procedures were not simply overlooked; they were often intentionally bypassed. A senior licensing officer, handpicked and assigned by the Minister, was permitted to process requests without the required oversight.
Critical management, including the Department Head of Economic Licenses, Head of Policy, and Secretary General, were away on official travel or leave, and all relevant publications (except the one lifting the moratorium) were issued without their knowledge or presence.
Explicit procedural warnings were ignored, both in writing from the Head of Policy and verbally from the Heads of Licensing and Policy. The required written advice was never prepared, and crucial management levels were bypassed. The result was a system with no checks and balances—license files were incomplete, some licenses were approved without payment confirmation, and permits were issued to people already employed elsewhere or who did not rely on taxi operation as their main means of subsistence, all contrary to ordinance requirements.
Compounding these violations, the Ministry admits the precise basis for taxi license approvals “cannot be established” for the period in question—a stunning admission that exposes administrative processes conducted in the dark, with little to no transparency or justification. The government's annual audit (SOAB) was based on files prepared by this same senior officer and department head, confirming the lack of proper review or records.
The broader problem runs deeper: the regulatory and legal framework is described as “outdated and overly simplistic,” creating loopholes ripe for abuse. For example, although the Department of Economic Licenses has about 600 taxi licenses on file, only 451 are confirmed by the Inspectorate of Economic and Transport Affairs as actively operating, revealing significant discrepancies. Illegal renting and leasing of licenses is not tracked, even though it is widely understood to occur, and business entities were improperly granted taxi and bus licenses in past years—in direct defiance of Article 6 of the National Ordinance on the Transportation of Persons.
These actions raise the specter of criminal liability under Article 363 of the Penal Code, which prohibits the unlawful granting of advantages by public officials. The document underscores that such breaches were not isolated errors, but part of a “systematic disregard for internal controls.” Key policy and legal definitions are missing or unclear, and there is little enforcement to prevent interpretation, inconsistency, and outright manipulation.
The Ministry’s promises for reform, clean-up of registries, the introduction of a digital routing system, demand analyses based on operational performance, and stricter multi-layered documentation standards—stand in sharp contrast to what has transpired. For the public, the damage is already done: what should be a transparent, fair licensing process has become a symbol of failed governance, favoritism, and lost public trust. As this scandal unfolds, calls for real accountability will only grow louder.