Contrary to the impression politicians sometimes tend to give, the role of the government or the Opposition is not to save the country. Yes, there are those moments in history when a country needs saving. And yes, there are times when politicians are required to act with courage and determination possibly beyond their call of duty.
But those times are not the norm. Governments by and large are called to lead and administer the country under the umbrella of normality. This has been the case in Malta since the mid-1980s, when our country returned to the path of democracy having flirted dangerously with violence, over-centralisation and undemocratic rule.
In a proper functioning democracy, people choose between political options. The process of choice depends on one critical ingredient: information. Without adequate information there can be no real system of choice. Which is why western democracies today pride themselves on being transparent. Transparency is to democracy what notes are to music: there cannot be one without the other.
Unfortunately, this government, despite a clear promise to the contrary, is undervaluing the importance of transparency in a democracy. By doing so, it is robbing the people the opportunity to make a proper evaluation of the choices at hand. We, and by we I mean the electorate including the Opposition, are being left in the dark on an number of important if not essential developments. We are being asked to show blind faith in the government, an unrealistic and improper demand on the part of the government.
Despite repeated calls to do so, this government has refused to publish the contracts and agreements signed with Electrogas (Malta) and Shanghai Electric. These contracts, signed on our behalf, bind us all for 18 years in the case of Electrogas and eternity in the case of Shanghai Electric. How they bind us we do not know.
It is unfortunate that this government is donning the cape of Super Salesman and operating under the guise of mystery
Likewise we do not know the details of the deal struck with Autobus de Leon, the company tasked with running the most democratic form of transport: the public buses. We also do not know the full and more relevant details of the deal that was reached with Henley and Partners, the firm that is selling our birthright – our citizenship.
We do not know what deal was made with Sadeen Group, the Jordanian company with zero experience in running educational institutions but which will now be building and operating a tertiary level education institution in Malta on 18,000 square metres of public land designated as a nature park and on public heritage property, without the issue of a public call. Despite knowing next to nothing on these deals, the government expects the electorate to approve them and sing their praises.
This is not how democracy should function. Parliament, the highest institution, is being left parched of information. When in Opposition, Joseph Muscat was of the opinion that important national contracts should be scrutinised by Parliament before being signed. Otherwise, he said, Parliament would be conducting an autopsy.
He is also on record saying the people have a right to know a priori the details of contracts that are going to be signed in their name. After all, it is the people who are going to pay. That line of thinking is no longer palatable for this government. Now mystery has become the order of the day. Everything has to be shrouded in secrecy. Even the contract of our national tourism representative in New York cannot be disclosed.
The absence of the information inevitably leads to speculation. For instance, we have no clue to the conditions and circumstances surrounding the state guarantee issued by the government with respect to the loan granted by the banks to Electrogas (Malta). The government has refused to publish information, stating that the disclosure of such information would lead to economic turmoil. What are we to think of this?
This State guarantee is unprecedented. It was granted to allow a private company to build, own and operate a power station. This private company, as private companies do, will operate at a profit. However, for a number of years, the risk that underpins that profit is going to be carried by the electorate and not by the company’s shareholders. Without that State guarantee, the banks would not have granted Electrogas the €460 million loan. Without the €460 million loan, Electrogas would not have built the power station, without the new power station this government would have faced a huge political fallout. In order to avoid that, the government effectively transformed a political risk into a commercial risk and dumped it on us all.
The electorate does not need heroes to lead the country. It needs politicians who respect the people’s intelligence and the people’s right to make an informed decision. It is unfortunate that this government, rather than doing just that, is donning the cape of Super Salesman and operating under the guise of mystery. Well, Malta is not Gotham.
We rightly expect our government to operate in full transparency. Only then can we really know if the deals signed in our names are really the best deals we could have had. Unfortunately we are only going to know once the ink has long dried.
Mario de Marco is Opposition deputy leader.