Taken at face value, the memorandum of understand signed between the Government and China providing for a Chinese energy firm to pump around €200 million into ailing Enemalta sounds like a wise move.
Not only will the cash injection go some way towards reducing Enemalta’s €800 million debt, but it also includes the setting up of a joint venture company in Malta specialising in the manufacture of photovoltaic panels, offering an opportunity to break into a lucrative EU market.
According to the Prime Minister, the deal will address Enemalta’s financial viability issue, which should lead to a better credit rating and, hence, more favourable loan repayment terms. In return, the Chinese company as well as its subsidiary Shanghai Electric Power will be able to service its plants in Europe using Malta’s strategic location.
A win-win deal then? Well, that very much remains to be seen. In the meantime, the Government should be answering some pertinent questions.
What stake are the Chinese to have in Enemalta? Joseph Muscat has denied it is 20 per cent – some commentators have claimed it may be even higher – but other than saying it will be a minority shareholding, he has refused to specify the figure.
Granted, what was signed last Wednesday was a memorandum of understanding. The full agreement is to be thrashed out and presented to Parliament over the next six months.
But the Prime Minister is not dealing with a private company. He his dealing with the nation’s property, and as such, the public has a right to know from the very outset what their Government is trading on their behalf. This is no striptease show; nor is it a game.
He should also explain, as Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has pointed out, why he did not address the issue in Parliament before giving up the as yet unknown stake in one of the country’s most crucial assets.
Dr Muscat may argue that the Nationalist Party did not do likewise when it concluded a deal to sell Mid-Med Bank to HSBC. But he is not in opposition any longer, and when his party was, it had vehemently attacked the manner in which the Nationalist government had proceeded. Has he shifted the goalposts just because he is now on the other side of the pitch?
What is the Government’s valuation of Enemalta? Who initiated this deal – us or them? How long has it been in the pipeline? What do we owe the Chinese? What implications does the deal have for our sovereignty in the energy field? How is the EU going to look at Malta for striking such a deal, not just from a technical but a political point of view?
These questions all require answers, especially from a party which used transparency as one of the pillars of its electoral platform. We have already seen another one, meritocracy, collapse without any intervention from a Samson-like figure. Has this fallen by the wayside too after six short months in government?
The Prime Minister has a duty to explain the deal now; not six months down the line of negotiations behind closed doors. It could well be that the deal will be a positive and a most welcome development for Malta. But the Government cannot just take it for granted that everybody will assume it is doing the right thing. Whether, of course, it does is a different matter.