Forget ‘tagħna lkoll’. As time goes by, it is becoming increasingly clear that Labour’s strategy is based solely on the popular Maltese song Issa dejjaqtni, għaliex ma titlaqx ’l hemm (You’re beyond annoying. Get lost).
This is the constant backdrop to Joseph Muscat’s declarations, and it is always directed towards the PN.
In this vein we have Labour calling upon Simon Busuttil to assume responsibility and apologise for a number of scandals ranging from the PN’s extending the development zones in 2006 to the Gozitan ‘work for votes’ mess to rampant cronyism.
To be fair – some of these claims are justified – Busuttil can’t hope to be taken seriously as a green convert unless he admits that the PN presided over a period of environmental havoc and scores of suspect Mepa decisions.
This being said, Labour’s chorus about the PN being a party of corrupt, snouts-in-the-trough, friends of friends is beginning to sound horrendously hypocritical.
In two years the Labour government has appointed a bevy of over-paid party sycophants to positions of trust and given carte blanche to every environmentally-destructive policy and project possible. We don’t care if the Nationalists did it too.
Real estate businessman Frank Salt once wrote an article telling us how he made savings on his electricity bill by leaving only one light bulb on at night in the dog’s room. Now that he has taught the nation to turn off the crystal chandeliers hanging in their dogs’ kennels, Salt has turned to the subject of investment.
It is very difficult to attract investment to Malta, he says, we really should not dissuade investors who want to set up on “wasteland”. Rather – we should welcome the Jordanian construction venture/‘sites of learning’. The thing that irritates Salt most is the way so many Maltese “jump to conclusions”. He says this before coming down in favour of the Jordanian venture.
It is in fact the authorities’ Labrador-like, panting eagerness to roll out the red carpet to every foreigner who claims he will direct investment to our shores, which often lands us with white elephants. Salt might want to have a look at the following news reports about an ‘investor’ who graced us with his presence. Earlier this year, an interview with a notoriously camera-shy foreign investor appeared in the local press, Michael Surguladze – who was described by interested party as a “man of means”.
Not every foreign investor dangling the promise of riches in front of our eyes delivers
He was one of the investors in the Valletta FC-branded card. But that apparently was small potatoes for Surguladze. Back in January, he was “happy to reveal the larger picture: a bank to process card payments, tied to a card which will target 10 million users and challenge American Express, and one that could employ as many as 400 people”. If that didn’t sound impressive enough, there was more. This was truly a case of first Valletta and then the world – the Valletta FC card was a test for a grander scheme for European club cards.
And that’s not all. Surguladze announced that he would be recruiting young lawyers and accountants and sending them abroad for training. You could practically picture eyes glazing over in admiration at this futuristic announcement. But Surguladze had more to teach us about the foibles of the super-wealthy. He thought we should be getting up to speed with what the uber-rich really want.
He advised: “Ultra-rich people have excellent connections. Soon you will see the headquarters of the biggest companies here. Private jets will be coming here but there is no five-star luxury hotel on the island. You have no experience here when it comes to dealing with these individuals.”
Readers could practically feel the air displaced by the private jets as they disgorged their cashmere and silk-wearing, champagne-swilling zillionaires.
But still that was not enough for Mr World Domination. Surguladze spoke of plans to bring big American financial institutions on board and a few individual investors from different countries, which would allow his group to tap far-flung markets. The future seemed so bright it looked like we’d all have to wear shades.
A month-and-a-half later, newspaper reports revealed that the Valletta FC committee had decided to file a lawsuit against Surguladze’s Insignia company after the latter reportedly failed to honour financial commitments as stipulated in the two-year contract signed by the two parties in the summer of 2013. Then last week, Yes Media Limited filed a protest claiming that Insignia Cards Limited had dishonoured its contractual obligations since the co-branding agreement was signed in November 2013 over Visa credit cards. So much for the uber-rich who were supposed to be swarming to Malta.
Not every foreign investor dangling the promise of riches in front of our eyes delivers.
That’s why we have to be ever-vigilant and not give away our priceless natural heritage to anyone who comes calling.
cl.bon@nextgen.net.mt