Tonio Fenech’s critical appreciation of the citizenship scheme (November 6) was not constructive: the very words and expressions he used to condemn this government were a condemnation of himself and his own previous scheme!

His statement was arresting: “It’s just about money.” Has he forgotten the financial imposition he placed on owners of second-hand cars imported from European countries? Was not a sum of €11,500 in VAT and registration all about money; good money too? He too, like this government, “had not been very interested in listening”. He failed to listen even to the courts of law. The former minister also insisted that the proceeds were meant to have gone into a “fund for investment”. We were never told where the €50 million imposed and collected on imported cars were invested, were we?

The former minister quoted Bloomberg that the new scheme is “the cheapest way to buy a passport”. At least the new citizens will be given a tangible reward. What did car owners get in return? Nothing and, believe me, it was not cheap but unbearably expensive.

This government might be getting €15 million annually from foreigners. The previous one pocketed €50 million from the Maltese.

Were we worse than the ‘bad characters’ that the government scheme could bring to Malta? We were forced to pay through the nose; yet, unlike these ‘bad characters’, we all had good ‘conduct certificates’.

The final condemnation irked me most. The ex-minister hurled a Parthian shot. He said that the Government lacked “seriousness” unless it changed the scheme. Was he less serious when he failed to reimburse the money? At least, this government will reimburse VAT even though the excessive taxation was not of its own making.