Minister Konrad Mizzi is vote shopping with taxpayers’ money, Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil charged this morning.
Speaking during a radio interview, Dr Busuttil referred to a report in today’s The Sunday Times of Malta that Dr Mizzi, responsible for water energy projects, had started the recruitment of dozens of fitters for the Water Services Corporation, in what appears to be a vote mobilisation campaign for the embattled minister.
About 150 prospective employees, mainly residing in Fgura, Paola, Sta Luċija and Tarxien – Dr Mizzi’s electoral district – received letters from the WSC informing them that they had been selected to start working at the government entity.
Dr Busuttil described this “clear corruption”, insisting the minister was using his position to ensure he was re-elected in the general election.
He said that should the PN win the election, he wanted to reintroduce a level playing field for all citizens in the country, something the current Labour administration had failed to do.
“This government has not only abandoned the notion of meritocracy, it is actively going against it. What we see in this case is that to get a job at the Water Services Corporation, you have to be someone voting for Konrad Mizzi, is that level? Is that fair?” he said.
Dr Busuttil then went on to give a list of other ways the government had let the people down on meritocracy.
Among these let downs was the government’s pledge to be pro-business. Dr Busuttil said the government was pro certain businesses, while others were being ignored, or worse, muscled out by those with ties to the government.
“Businessmen are telling me that they don’t even bother applying for government tenders anymore. They don’t because everyone already knows who is going to win them before the bidding has even begun. Is that pro-business? Is that the open transparent governance we were promised?” he said.
The same was true of law and order, the law seemed to apply for those everyday people but not others with ties to the government.
He referred to media reports that two Gozitan youths had been let off the hook of drug trafficking offences after two Labour politicians intervened. This, Dr Busuttil said, was horrifying.
Another instance he said had seen alleged corruption in the issuing of government contracts by an Education Ministry official seemingly ignored by the police – something a PN administration would look into immediately, he said.
With around a year to go for the next election, Dr Busuttil said he would bring about the change people really wanted, once elected, cleaning the country up and making it level and fair for all.