Sticking a nose into Dubai

The main political agenda at the moment may be somewhat low in profile, but it sure is interesting. The two issues dominating the news - witness to the fact that things are largely running smoothly in this country - regard a Labour Party delegation's visit to Dubai and the granting of a law courts cleaning contract to a company owned by the family of a prison inmate. They have been respectively adopted by the government and the opposition to rubbish the other side. Both sides have claimed that the issue being used against them is a non-issue. However, they are worth analysing.

Let us start with the Imniehru issue. The facts (as I know them): a company owned by the family of a prison inmate, Mario Camilleri, known as L-Imniehru, was granted a contract to clean the courts of justice. The opposition let all hell loose. Opposition spokesmen were allegedly threatened by Mr Camilleri, who is now facing charges before the same courts. The Ministry of Justice has, meanwhile, terminated the cleaning contract and thrown the Camilleri company out.

Without going into the merits of Mr Camilleri's conviction and pending charges, may I ask if it is a policy to bar the families of prison inmates from carrying out an economic activity? Are members of the family not allowed to get a job?

I would guess that the cleaning contract was granted after due examination of the tenders submitted and there does not seem to be any controversy over the Camilleri company being capable of carrying out the job. It has been claimed that the cardinal sin is the fact that such a contract was being executed within the courts of justice. But what difference does it make where it is carried out? Cleaning is cleaning, wherever it takes place. There seems to be some weird reasoning behind the whole issue.

To come to the Dubai adventure, this seems to be more interesting, what with the little spin-offs emerging. The Malta Labour Party sent an official delegation to Dubai in order to seek business opportunities. This was led by the deputy leader for parliamentary affairs, Charles Mangion, had the blessing of party leader Alfred Sant, and included shadow ministers Leo Brincat and Charles Buhagiar. This was certainly a commendable initiative aimed at attracting new business to Malta, and purportedly to perhaps seal the SmartCity deal. The problem - if it is a problem - is the appearance on the scene of prominent Labour supporters and collaborators in the contracting sphere who also travelled to Dubai at the same time as the delegation. And the complaints from the Nationalist Party side was that these were "hidden"; probably lying in some piece of luggage - although it is very difficult to get away without being noticed nowadays.

Now, originally I thought "whose business is it to decide whom the Labour Party wants to take away with it on a trip to the Gulf?" And why the party should have an official delegation to the Gulf in the first place is nobody's business really, except that we wonder what they are on about and that it certainly begs questions, to say the least. The PN (not the government!) could do the same if it felt it was appropriate. But then the gentlemen who were in Dubai simultaneously with the MLP delegation seemed to be party supporters, who also zealously contributed in some way or other to the construction of the Red House at Mile End. The cloak and dagger tactics were not attractive either. Why not have them out in the open? And what did these contractors hope to gain? Was it a purely cultural trip?

But then we got more. Reading the weekly newspapers the other Sunday we found reports of a snake within the bushes. And what a snake indeed, allegedly emerging as it did from the vicinity of the highest echelons of the MLP. This particular snake was accused by no less than the capo of leaking the news of the delegation going to Dubai. That was a very serious crime indeed. But then why should there be anything to leak if things were transparent and open? Is this perhaps part of a little (or not so little) plot for someone to get a foothold within this party which has been raked with discord and incompetence?