The prize for the most tactless end-of-year message must go to Minister without Portfolio Konrad Mizzi. He had himself filmed sitting comfortably in a leather armchair near a fireplace, with his laptop and coffee, describing his successes in the energy sector.
He chose to do this when the flagship gas power station he had promised before he was elected is almost two years late and still not operational. And, above all, when as minister he was stripped of the energy portfolio eight months ago, following revelations about his undisclosed account in Panama. What brazen cheek.
The country was utterly shocked by the Panamagate scandal last spring and is still reeling. But Mizzi thinks it is fine to take a seat by the warm fireside, like Santa Claus telling us a Christmas story, as though nothing unusual is going on. In the meantime, the promised audit into his Panama affairs has not yet seen the light of day.
The Cabinet reshuffle in April was immediately ridiculed across the board as a cosmetic exercise, and Mizzi has confirmed it with this videoclip. “As you can see, I take decisions,” Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had reportedly said when he removed energy from Mizzi’s portfolio and took it under his own wing. Nobody swallowed it then, and we certainly cannot believe it now.
The environmental (IPPC) permit for the controversial new gas power station and storage tanker was granted this month. A switch from heavy fuel oil to gas is good news from an environmental point of view. Gas is a far cleaner fuel and will reduce air and waste emissions.
But many questions remain unanswered. A storage tanker floating in Marsaxlokk bay was not presented convincingly as the only or best choice of infrastructure for gas supply. It has been repeatedly suggested that the gas storage and regasification unit could have been located in the open sea outside the bay, with gas piped in to the power station on land. But detailed studies on this option were not considered.
Either way, the decision on infrastructure was not the role of the IPPC permit issued by the Environment and Resources Authority, which focuses on operational matters. Even at the environmental impact assessment and permit stage in 2014, the government had already issued the power station tender and the options were limited.
A full picture of the infrastructural alternatives should have been fully studied and discussed before any commitments were made, ideally through an update and environmental assessment of the 2012 National Energy Policy. This was not carried out.
Mizzi thinks it is fine to take a seat by the warm fireside, like Santa Claus telling us a Christmas story, as though nothing unusual is going on
Another main infrastructural option is for gas supplied through a submarine pipeline from Sicily, instead of having a storage tanker in Marsaxlokk. A proposal on these lines was already submitted to the European Commission as a ‘project of common interest’ (PCI) by 2012, and it resurfaced in late 2013.
The government now claims that a switch to a pipeline for gas supply will happen as soon as possible, and that the gas tanker will then just sail away. That sounds good, but how does it fit in with Electrogas contract, said to be for an 18-year period?
Electrogas have now built a power station and regasification facility on land. They have also constructed a jetty, and leased a gas storage tanker. Will this investment push the government to drag its feet on implementing the gas pipeline, and what are the projected timeframes?
With this contract, will the government still be able to fully benefit from the interconnector to purchase electricity? On the ground, this is the cleanest electricity for us as it is produced overseas, without any air or waste emissions in Malta. Using the interconnector may also offer cheaper electricity prices.
The details of the power station contract have still not been published despite repeated requests. The excuse of withholding information for ‘commercial reasons’ is just not credible anymore. The pattern of secrecy is too deeply and widely set.
There must be other reasons for all this hiding. Obviously the first thought that springs to mind is that there is something to hide. Until the government publishes its agreements, this impression will linger and fester.
■ In an exchange of New Year greetings, the President of Malta distributed an essay written by a 10-year-old student to the members of Parliament present.
The essay was reportedly critical of the way politicians behaved. What is meant by this? That even a child can recognise that politicians behave badly?
The President is right to be concerned but unless her message is targeted at those who are actually out of line, it can backfire. I don’t judge all politicians to be the same.
Some MPs, on both sides, work hard and genuinely do their best. That is why those who do step out of line should step down. It is unfair to dampen and overshadow the efforts of their colleagues.
Politicians are not all equally prone to behaving badly. Diminishing the work and character of those on the right track keeps valid candidates away. That is bad for everyone. We need the best people on those parliamentary seats.
petracdingli@gmail.com