Earthquake warning

The elections of the Labour Party administration today week were thoroughly followed by the public and the media. The interest shown confirms the relevance of Labour in our society. Some were happy with the outcome. Many others were disappointed.

There were those who were surprised that I did not take an active role in the process. I did this consciously since I do not think that it is a leader's business to impose on others. Now that the decisions have been made, my work on internal re-organisation begins: the earthquake that some are expecting, and many others have come to believe that will never happen. The latter are in for a surprise.

As I sit down writing this article on Friday afternoon, I am convinced more than ever that Labour needs a deep reform in the way in which its structures work. We need to become a modern organisation that reflects the aspirations of our society. There should be no internal point of view in contrast with what is felt outside the party. The first should reflect and interpret the second. That is why I will be calling on the National Executive to call an Extraordinary General Conference in the weeks to come in order to implement a series of wide-ranging changes. These will make Labour the most dynamic organisation in the national political spectrum and will show that we mean business.

The changes I will propose might surprise some. I initially intended putting them forward prior to the election of the new administration but that would have meant delaying these elections a couple of months, and inevitably conditioning them. The sentiment within the party was that such a delay was not desirable. Now, I will push on with these changes.

My proposals will include a re-definition of the way in which our electoral base - and society at large - is represented within the party structures, the way we take decisions, the way we interpret the role of our organisation, changes in the roles of officials in elected posts and the implementation of a proper managerial structure within the party.

It will be an earthquake in no uncertain terms. But it will not be change for change's sake. It will be change with a purpose. It will be an important step that shows that Labour is willing to hear, change and make things happen. It goes without saying that there will be those who will not be very keen that these changes take place. There will be some within the organisation who have grown comfortable with the status quo and think that the election of yours' truly meant more of the same. They will try to discourage us. They will say that we are taking a leap in the dark. I am sorry for them, but decisions will be taken and changes will be made.

The time for change has come. If anything, last week's elections hastened it.

• In the meantime, other earthquakes in the Labour Party have already started taking place. We are adopting a positive attitude and will continue to do so.

The huge steps forward made by the party in its outreach in the past weeks will be solid foundations on which we will build.

• The General Workers' Union made very serious allegations on the way in which €100 million were lost in the execution of two major contracts at the Malta Shipyards. The GWU stated that this enormous sum was lost because of inexcusable deficiencies in the way the quotations were prepared.

The allegations have to date gone unanswered. The government's lame excuse that it is not time for finger-pointing is unacceptable. Taxpayers have the right to know what happened to their money and who was responsible for the decisions that led to such a massive loss.

Accountability begs that answers be given.

• Charles Mangion has asked the Auditor General to look into the way in which contracts for security and parking services at Mater Dei Hospital have been awarded.

To date, the government has not reacted to the Malta Today reports that the Prime Minister has issued a direct order for up to €2 million annually for security services, putting into question the government's own financial regulations.

The Cabinet also decided to waive an annual fee of €324,000 that had to be paid by the contractor running the parking services. Furthermore, the same company ended up being paid €487,000 by the government even though they will be earning €5.8 million from the same contract.

Many questions need to be answered.

Dr Muscat is leader of the Malta Labour Party and a member of the European Parliament.

www.josephmuscat.com