It has been three years into this government’s legislature and like any milestone one tends to reflect on the past achievements, misdeeds or,as we have heard a couple oftimes, how things could have been done better.
• Everything is relative, the Knot monument could easily be classified in this category yet the issues below take centre stage. And this is where one has to really smell the coffee, starting with the Cafe Premier issue. We can remain in Valletta and move on to Old Mint Street and the shady dealings for property expropriation within the Land Department.
The deal with Henley & Partners was and still is questionable and the mess with the residency permits further created an ugly identity crisis. The giving away of Żonqor Point for an ‘American University of Malta’, which eventually turned out to be an American Institute, is a further blow.
And now there is Panamagate. From social and legal perspectives, an action is in itself more important than the intent. Nonetheless, the focus cannot just be on the action of setting up a trust in New Zealand and a company in Panama. Neither should it be on the tax, amount traded or relative fine. It’s the intent behind the act that our society has to fully understand and act upon.
One need not be a financial guru to understand why certain individuals set up such structures in Panama. And when it’s a high-ranking politician and people in office working closely with a country’s Prime Minister on negotiating health, energy, lands and citizenship deals, all involving millions of euros, then we know that we have hit rock bottom.
• In no chronological order, yes what the heck? We had threats of pushbacks and telling EU leaders that they must smell the coffee. The cost of oil decreased and in a pompous event we got a 2c decrease.
The power station was meant to have been completed by now yet the contract is somewhat ‘questionable’ with the State providing the guarantee.
And while the Prime Minister rented his own car to himself, others got rewarded for lending their face to billboards with consultancies and jobs.
Unfortunately, the police had their fair share of bad press while the traffic problem did not remain just a perception. Arriva was kicked out only to be replaced by a Spanish operator with bigger subsidies yet still no concrete results.
Mepa and development become a free-for-all to make hay while the sun shines and an impeachment process is conveniently delayed.
‘Animal rights’ is just a cover for ‘Hunter’s wishes’ while we all asked where is Sai Mizzi.
Revenge porn is condemned yet it’s prime ambassador rewarded. And in the meantime, employment in the public sector and positions of thrust keep rising.
A biased TVM and a parliamentary threat brought us back to the 1980s. Castille gets a new set of horrible lights for 300K, holes included, and a mid-west car chase goes underway. A New Year’s Eve video message is done in bad taste and we wonder what’s really happening with V18.
CHOGM and the Migration Summit were one big mess, amateurish, lacking in protocol and translators, and more.
• A drive to reduce bureaucracy, the enactment of civil union, a strong economy and record tourism are probably the top achievements for this administration. Irrespective if they inherited or not, the results are still there and one must call a spade a spade.
Such misdeeds do not reflect well on the country
There are also probably a number of other smaller initiatives which could be included in this category, yet other issues clearly take priority and for obvious reasons.
Putting partisan politics aside, the socio and political environment of any country goes beyond financial figures and statistics. While it is important to have a sound economy we need an administration and political leaders that inspire good governance and accountability.
To a certain extent, it would have been nice for the country if the Labour Party’s electoral manifesto and slogans were actually adhered to and achieved. I strongly believe that the fact the Labour administration dished out jobs to ‘friends’ instead of surrounding themselves with capable people (even if Labour leaning) will haunt them in the long run. The lack of good governance at the top meant that things started to spiral out of control and it seems that it reached a point of no return.
Unfortunately, this is a missed opportunity for this administration as theirlandslide victory meant they could have managed their governance with a much better approach.
On the other hand, it’s an opportunity for the Opposition to capitalise on such shortcomings. There is a saying that “Every country has the government it deserves”.
Yet, irrespective of which party you sympatise with, such misdeeds do not reflect well on the country and as a nation as a whole and we deserve better.
Tonight’s edition of TimesTalk will discuss the recent scandals as Labour marks its third year in government.