Helena Dalli
Who’s a good Finance Minister?
The author of last Tuesday’s editorial of The Times (major newspapers have a number of leader writers), took me to task on my financial aptitude because, according to this writer, I “chided the government for warning department heads about their duty to see how they could carry out its instructions to cut spending”.
The assessment worried me no end and I asked for a revision of papers especially since, in my political lifetime, I have invariably done the opposite of what I have been accused of.
As spokesman for public administration and government investments I have written and spoken in Parliament and elsewhere about the abuse of taxpayer’s money on and by quangos. I have asked countless parliamentary questions on how public money is spent by public officers. I have often quoted the Auditor General’s reports condemning the open-handedness of some public servants. I have scrutinised public spending together with the other members of the Public Accounts Committee, budget debates… you get my drift.
The leader writer then advises me that I would have had more impact had I asked the minister “how successful the cost-cutting programme it launched in its 2011 Budget had been”. Had I done that, I would have been repeating myself as that is exactly what I did months ago in my critique of the last Budget.
And for those who find Parliament too boring, this is from an article I wrote after the Budget was announced:
“There are then no proposals on how to restrain government overspending. The wastage in government administration is also not addressed... Last year, we were told that there will be spending cuts in ministries and efficiency will be top of the agenda. The figures show that this did not happen and that there will actually be higher spending.”
I even went back to the press conference upon which I was assessed by the editorial writer. There I came to the conclusion that the least s/he could have done was to read the press release before spontaneously letting the fingers skid out of control on the keyboard.
Some quotes from the press release: “The government is now blaming top public administrators but when the opposition drew the government’s attention on the misuse of public funds, the government defended those whose spending was out of control as the Prime Minister and ministers considered first the political loyalty of these officers before their administrative efficiency”.
To give some examples: the millions of euros spent on doing up the Malta Enterprise office; the millions given monthly to a consultant at the Resources Ministry; the Auditor’s assessment of the abuse of public funds: “good examples in bad practice”; the BWSC case; the euro-guzzling mismanagement at Enemalta and Transport Malta; millions for a new Parliament building and for a pointless bridge...
During the press conference, I also spoke about the fact that “the Labour Party has been criticising the way quangos seem to have a free hand in spending taxpayers’ money but the government was always ready to protect the big spenders... It is now that the government is facing external pressure that, instead of carrying the responsibility, the Prime Minister is putting the onus on public administrators”. And this is the whole point.
The editorial then ends with: “Labour would be wrong, very wrong, if, in its urge to put the Administration in a bad light it works up a sentiment against the government for trying to trim expenditure. This is not the way to win votes”.
This statement is quite patronising and the writer seems to be wagging his/her finger at me, warning me scoldingly, “wrong, very wrong”, and declares pedagogically that “this is not the way to win votes” uncovering his/her bias that shadow ministers are there only to win votes and not to criticise what they disagree with as not a good solution for a national problem.
The reason for pointing out at Dr Gonzi’s brass neck in so angrily and arrogantly throwing the financial ball in the public servants’ court now, was that it is very rich of the Prime Minister to use these officers, when it suits him, as scapegoats to cover his fiscal gaffes.
What’s more, at this stage the Prime Minister sounded like that father who wastes his salary on gambling and then tells his children to be careful with money or they will be punished.
Which brings me to another point that reflects the confusion in the author’s mind when s/he states: ‘‘And even her point about Dr Gonzi not having the moral authority to order the cuts is somewhat flawed now because the Prime Minister has already admitted that they had made a mistake in the way they handled the matter”.
No logic here and the reasoning goes like this: Dr Dalli criticises Dr Gonzi for a lack of moral authority; Dr Gonzi had already admitted this; ergo Dr Dalli is wrong to say that Dr Gonzi has no moral authority. The syllogism astounds.
We shall soon have the much-touted golden rule enshrined in our Constitution but what we really need is a change in the spending patterns of national politicians, politicians who would do anything and spend as much in order to hold on to power.
Why do citizens have to pay for the mismanagement of their government? And maybe even pay for penalties now. Politicians should be held directly responsible for their actions in the same way that executives in the private sector are. But, no, hold on, lest some writer feels offended.
Fiscal discipline starts at the top, which brings me to the question asked in the title. Who’s a good Finance Minister? It could be that for the leader-writer in this case, Tonio Fenech has the right ingredients as s/he didn’t tell him that he makes a bad Finance Minister. One ought to eat the national financial pudding to appreciate the proof of this.
Dr Dalli is shadow minister for the public service and gender equality.
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G Borg
Feb 21st, 14:17
To my dear Angus Black,
Dr Dalli must really ruffle your feathers. He always bothers to write a whole new article (not merely a comment) in a valiant effort to plug the government's many holes. He does this free of charge - as far as I know we don't get paid for comments - he must realise he is devaluing his writing .... or is it her writing? As you can never really know when a writer hides his/her name.
My dear Angus, you do not need to get hot under your collar, but rest assured that the PL do have the will and know-how for a better approach to our national finances. It seem that the "Money No Problem " era has come to end based on what is being written by pro PN correspondents, urging the "Saving Mentality" to be once again adopted by the Maltese citizens.
Oh yes , Times do change and U Turns seems to be the order of the day.
Finally, do not forget to vote on Saturday since it is important that HE will get 100% minus a vote or two or will it be more ???!!!.
mark borg
Feb 21st, 07:23
Spot on Dr. Dalli !
Carmel Grech
Feb 20th, 18:51
Very well written and explained Dr. Dalli. Keep it up.
Angus Black
Feb 20th, 16:53
The Labour Party and Ms. Dalli have been so out of touch and unaccustomed to the intricacies of governing that they keep getting everything wrong. Ms Dalli should have addressed her own parliamentary group who constantly come up with contradictions which would make a legitimate economist tear his/her hair.
In this economic scenario when every single country in the EU and beyond is trying to contain rising unemployment, when they have to resort to the ECB and IMF to borrow enough to shore up their banks - Joseph proposes to lower the electricity tariffs even when rapid increases in oil prices fly in his face.
When people riot in the streets because their wages and pensions are slashed, services cut, Edward Scicluna prefers to see lower wages. Has he cleared the idea with the GWU?
When Evarist Bartolo criticizes the government regarding the slow progress of more students proceeding to tertiary education, he comes with a record of changing stipends into loans and declares himself as being 'safe' with students and their stipends.
When this Labour Party's idea of reducing unemployment when they ruled the roost was to employ even more with the civil service, 8000 at a time, then it bodes very poorly on their (unseen, unheard) solutions/policies regarding the creation of more jobs.
When this Party locked out doctors, brought in foreign ones with very poor language skills and delayed surgeries, botched some and created backlogs galore, now it criticizes Mater Dei ( because it wasn't their accomplishment) even if the number of operations each year are thousands above what were done at St. Luke's.
So, in view of all this and much more (space prevents more examples), how dare Ms Dalli question a Finance Minister, who admittedly is not perfect, but has managed to steer the ship, in rough waters, without even requiring aid at the tiller?
Who is a better Finance Minister, Ms Dalli? Do you have one in your ranks?
joe micallef
Feb 21st, 11:09
Seems the PN self esteem has blinded one and all blue that no one from a financial stand point is as good as the PN
Keep it up in rhetrospective guy
As an opposition the PL points out financial wrong doings and it is not within its electoral mandate to act as if it is in governance having been second best during the 2008 election
Reds greens blues and whites pay for the PN financial blunders the latest being the 20k spent for 3 smokers' shelters at mater dei and the power station gross miscalulation of 18 million being verified at 100,000 euros
Ah yes the 600euros weekly for the past 2 years hidden from public knowledge!!
Sound finance in rough waters indeed!!
Gerry Cowie
Feb 20th, 14:53
When PL gets some decent policies and moves on then they just might have reason to criticise!
Francis Sammut
Feb 20th, 14:08
I am neither blue nor red but I must say, this is a very well written article, Dr. Helena Dalli.
Joseph Fava
Feb 20th, 10:48
@ Peter Murray,
but my dear Peter, for this paper Tonio Fenech makes a good minister while Dr Dalli doesn't. For some people all Labourites are children of a lesser god and they can never make it tio the top, even if foreign universities grant them all the Ph.D.d in the world and the Sorbonne appoints them as ots exemainers, like it did to Helena Dalli. It is so sad that some opinion-makers (sic) have been completely duped and indocrtrinated by the GonziPN propaganda machine to the extent that they divide our political leaders into two distinct categories. The Gonzi faithful are all fit to govern, the the Labourites are unfit 'x ufficio castae.' They are our version of the Hindu's 'untouchables' and naturally the Nats are our 'Brahmins.'
During 25 years of almost uninterruped rule, the Nats and their media henchmen have acquired such an air of superiority that they have appointed themselves as our 'censor mori.' They even proclaim in almost imperial tones who makes a good minister and who doesn't. Even if the person who is under fire happens to be a first class scholar, an established politician and a proved achiever. And that's what Dr Dalli happens to be.
Paul Giordimaina
Feb 21st, 08:44
Mr Fava if she is that good why the PL have C Vella as a finance shadow minister.
Paul Ellul
Feb 20th, 10:45
The Maltese tax payers need to keep up the pressure to Government that it is the Ministers who have to change their ways and lead by example and not shift blame onto heads of department.
Everyone and his pet parrot is constantly complaining about this, but then stop short of saying it publicly for fear of fuelling others and which may cause a shift in opinion polls to favour the PL.
This is pathetic. We are not getting value for money from the current Administration, plain and simple. So Mr. Finance Minister, please go to work and do the job properly. You have 12 months to fix this, and I am sure you will the votes you need to stay in your position.
But don't blame the taxpayer if you don't. That is how democracy works, plain and simple.
But if you continue to let your fellow cabinet ministers continue to appoint even more consultants @
€ 6,000 / month + expenses, this is going to continue to push the Country's Finances further into the red zone.
It's also pathetic how we don't compare our Country's finances with other smaller sized European Economies like Lichtenstein, or Morocco, or San Marino. Are there any economists out their who can do this? I would look forward to see the comparisons in their books to ours... they too depend on tourism and financial services...they are the benchmark. Forget Greece, Ireland, Spain, or Italy. They can compare themselves to Germany, Finland or Denmark.
We have so much going for us and yet we have made so many silly gaffes for absolutely nothing other than not doing the job properly. Time to get real or reality is not going to give us any more time.
Well done to the Times to giving the taxpayer room to be heard.
Peter Murray
Feb 20th, 10:01
This Finance Minister termed the loan(!) to Greece as a " sound investment".