The Malliagate scandal might have been a blessing in disguise for the government because, in less than 48 hours, no one was talking about the Budget that had just been presented in Parliament.

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna’s Budget can easily be described as lacking on a number of levels: lacking economic vision, lacking social justice and lacking political honesty.

It is also a Budget that will be allocating €23 million in subsidies to a new public transport service provider. These subsidies will also have to be increased in subsequent years.

I can still hear then Opposition MP Joe Mizzi’s criticism echoing in the back of my mind when the former government contracted annual subsidies of €6 million with Arriva.

Mizzi, who did his utmost to destroy Arriva, finally succeeded. But what came after? Do I need to spell it out? Should I roar this time round to make my point?

This is also a Budget that must account for the €2.5 million direct order for the hiring out of coaches and buses that Mizzi, who is now Transport Minister, awarded behind our backs and against all procurement norms.

This was done to cover up the mess caused by the same minister when he dismissed Arriva and was lumped with having to set up his own form of public transport system, a system that no one knows the precise cost of and what we will still have to pay; a system that was by no means efficient or up to any standard ever experienced both pre- and post-Arriva.

This attempted cover up soon resulted in the breakdown of the public transport service and a costly contingency plan had to be put in place for a service to remain afloat.

Words are the only cheap thing to come with the public transport contract

As for the new system I am still in the dark. What we know is that Mizzi, once again, against all procurement practices and regulations, has come to some form of agreement with a Spanish provider.

We know that he had been to Spain to check out that their offer is valid and we know that we will be paying huge subsidies. What we have to go on, once again, is Mizzi’s word and words are the only cheap thing to come with this contract.

While on the subject of cheap words, I recall Mizzi’s passionate speech in Parliament during the Budget debate a few years back on the votes of the Ministry of Resources and Infrastructure. He had said he was so sure of the presence of oil in Maltese territory that if none was found once Labour was in power he would resign.

Oil exploration was not even mentioned in the Budget this time round. Does this mean that the government has lost hope in this regard too?

The closure of the Ħaġar Qim oil well came as a surprise to me because it again transpired that Mizzi has no plan in this sector. In the same way the he failed in 1998 he has failed again today and, in doing so, he deprived us of much-needed economic stimulus.

The Finance Minister also failed to address the aviation sector in his four-hour delivery. What has happened to the €150,000 allocated for the foundation of the Aviation Research Centre? Have these been spent elsewhere, such as to finance public transport overspending?

I cannot believe that such a lucrative sector, both for our economy and for the creation of private sector jobs, has been put aside.

As for the privatisation of the Sa Maison yacht marina, I hope this will be transparent and not a repeat of the expression of interests practice we have seen so far, both in the public transport tender and the casino licences.

Regarding the infrastructure, it is here that this government shows its lack of political honesty and displays it without shame. Disguised under the name of the Marsa traffic junction it is nothing more than an attempt (and they will succeed) in upping the real estate value of a Labour Party property by using public and European funds.

Is this the best they could offer in what is their ‘first’ Budget?

No wonder they were happy to drag out the Malliagate saga for over 19 days. Nothing was missed, except an opportunity to uncover a deceitful Budget that increased basic expenses for citizens and ensured added value to the government, its party and its cronies.

Toni Bezzina is the Nationalist Party’s spokesman on agriculture and fisheries.

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