The late Labour minister Lino Spiteri had shared his regrets with readers that he had been partially responsible for the excesses in the institutional corruption, miscarriage of justice and the constant turning of a blind eye to acts of political violence during the 1970s and 1980s. Cabinet collective responsibility had won the day. He later resigned from another Labour administration for a less serious reason.

History is bound to repeat itself with one or two of the present Cabinet ministers.   After all some are on record saying that had they been caught with a secret company in Panama, they would have resigned from the Cabinet. But when it came to the crunch they still voted in Parliament, not once but twice, in support of Konrad Mizzi.

Listening to the one-liners that some of the present Cabinet members give as answers when challenged to give their views on the latest scandal, they seem to whisper that a lot of good is being done, as if to say, forget the corruption, that’s a collateral damage that you have to put up with if you want us to carry on doing good while governing.

Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli in her article ‘Well ahead, more to come’ (December 23), said few would question the progress in the fields of LGBTIQ and disability equality and concluded her piece by telling us that the much needed reform ensures that “all are equal before the law and all are protected against discrimination”.

While what has been achieved in these fields is largely commendable, equality before the law and protection against discrimination are being trampled upon in many other areas by the very government she supports blindly, as indeed do allher colleagues.

Hardly had the Cabinet been sworn in back in 2013 when swift arrangements were being made to have companies opened up in Panama by Mizzi and chief of staff Keith Schembri presumably with the purpose of avoiding paying taxes in Malta. So why does every income earned by residents have to be declared and eventually taxed accordingly, when some political big shots exempt themselves from being equal to the rest of us? An act which is in itself discriminatory. And let’s not forget that had the Panama Papers never been revealed, we the ordinary people would have been none the wiser.

Most of the scandals that have occurred in the last four years involved lack of respect towards the moral precept of equality before the law and freedom from discrimination.

The CEO of Vitals admitted that this was his company’s first venture into medical services. Gozitans as guinea pigs? What a betrayal

It is a fact that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat appointed Cyrus Engerer to a high post in Brussels after he had just been given a two-and-half-years’ suspended sentence for vile offences, while others in similar or less serious situations end up losing their jobs and suffer real economic hardship.

This defiant appointment shows how discrimination and cronyism are alive and well in the same republic that boasts to be so progressive in the area under the responsibility of Helena Dalli.

Corruption from its very nature is the archenemy of equality before the law.  The Café Premier case involved the Prime Minister giving the go-ahead for €4 million to be passed on to an individual who was in court because he reneged on his responsibilities as a tenant.

How many people in a similar position would have liked to receive the same treatment?  Some of them would have been made homeless, others would have had to borrow money in order to sort out the mess. Four million euros would have been sufficient to spare us all digging into our pockets to make the l-Istrina such as a success, in spite of knowing that some of the money would eventually be used to pay for services which the government claims it can’t afford.

If this is not inequality and discrimination, I don’t know what is.

And the same can be said about the Gaffarena scandal which involved collusion in a ministry for which the Prime Minister himself is ultimately responsible.

But the most offensive, unequal and discriminatory treatment was reserved for the residents of Gozo. They have become second-class citizens where heath is concerned. While those residing in Malta have a choice whether to avail themselves of Mater Dei’s services or go private, Gozitan residents have only one choice.

Once they step into the Gozo hospital they are considered as private patients. They have no choice but to submit to all the unknown conditions set not by health professionals but by managers whose aim is to make profit.

What makes this whole situation even more serious is the fact that the government had no electoral mandate to sell the only publicly owned hospital in Gozo. The double insularity experienced by Gozitan residents should have been sufficient enough reason against depriving the island of its own hospital, a hospital in which generations of Gozitans have invested time, energy and hard work.

No one objects to medical input from reputable and proven professional enterprises, but to pass on the hospital’s whole ownership and management to unknown owners of companies in the Virgin Islands, is to consider Gozitans as disposable assets for the enrichment of investors who have no guts to show their faces.

The CEO of Vitals admitted that this was his company’s first venture into medical services. Gozitans as guinea pigs?  What a betrayal, no wonder people are asking many questions, but all they get is a sinister silence.

It is a well-known fact that the Panama accounts were opened just two days after the deal with Vitals Company was completed and signed by Konrad Mizzi himself. Most Gozitans would correctly speculate that their hospital was sold for purposes which are linked to the scandal revealed in the Panama Papers.

While Malta may be well ahead in some areas, one thing is certain, there is more inequality and plenty of discrimination to come.

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