Andreina Fenech Farrugia (AFF), the disgraced Director of Fisheries, seems to be a right piece of work. What struck me in the whole tuna debacle is her sheer brazenness. It goes without saying that she has a right to a defence before the law. But AFF has gone out of her way to rubbish the substantial accusations levelled against her with disclaimers that beggar belief.
Andreina Fenech Farrugia.And this when the accusations were backed up with sufficient prima facie evidence to force the OPM, that had originally hand-picked her in the flush of post-2013 victory, to jettison her. She should be thanking her lucky stars for being one of the few favoured ones to land the strange punishment of suspension from work with full pay (another so honoured was Edward Caruana of FTS fraud allegations fame).
Instead, AFF is trying to convince the public that she was not fishing for kick-backs. No, she was simply gathering payments due to her department. Now, any senior civil servant knows that it would take all of 30 minutes for government to check the computer trail of payments due, payments made and receipts issued. No director goes round gathering cheques and stuffing them in their pockets against the rainy day when the department runs out of paperclips.
That AFF was reinstated in 2013 is not necessarily more sinister than the umpteenth example of bad judgement by a political party long in opposition and in the first flush of power. Prior to 2013, Labour welcomed anyone with any sort of gripe and sob-story of victimisation without bothering to verify. Partisan and nepotistic reinstatements and meteoric promotions became the rule across the board. Meritocracy was the first victim of Labour’s post-election pogrom of its feel-good electoral sound-bites.
No director goes round gathering cheques and stuffing them in their pockets against the rainy day when the department runs out of paperclips
But AFF is so determined not to be pushed off the gravy train that she is willing to lose her last vestiges of professional dignity. What is worthy of political comment is that Malta’s senior public service would not have to be sullied by this shameful performance if Joseph Muscat’s government had not gutted the service and reduced it – with few exceptions – to a gaggle of apparatchiks.
Once the Service’s backbone of professional pride and integrity and its intricate internal mechanism of checks and balances were broken, sad stories like AFF’s should not have come as a surprise. It has not been the first. Nor will this case be the last.
Mass transit thinking
I have criticised this government in the past for focussing on new roads, which are at best a stop-gap measure, rather than mass transit systems. Now, finally, Prime Minister Muscat has come up with the beginnings of a sensible solution. I liked the idea of expanding free public bus use to young people, and I like the idea of a free bus transit across the trans-island tunnel.
Which is not to say that I am yet sold to the tunnel proper. It still sounds too much like an excuse for land reclamation and to prize off yet another huge parcel of ODZ. On the other hand, once built it will remove the double-insulation argument that justifies Gozo having its own ministry and claiming region status. So, Gozitans, be careful what you wish for.
Back to transport: let’s go the whole nine yards and make public buses free for all residents. Investing in free electric bus transport and trams on high-frequency routes is not a new idea, and has significantly reduced personal car use in cities where it is in use. The cost of the increased bus subsidy has to be balanced against the far greater cost of other new mass-transit systems and the multiple benefits of less cars on the roads.
Uproar in Banana Republic
Maltese banana lovers (i.e. Maltese lovers of bananas) have all gone, er, bananas over Education Minister Evarist Bartolo’s dictatorial decision to exclude their favourite fruit from schoolchildren’s fruit boxes.
How dare he insinuate that bananas blacken? This is obviously a snide reference to their South American and African origin. It’s birtherism, is what it is. Apples also darken, but no-one mentions it because they come from Italy, eh. This is the worst form of discrimination intended to brainwash our children.
Some pretty fruity language is being used, and things are getting so pear-shaped that Parliament is facing a complete embargo of bananas. This is serious. Where would Chris ‘Acapulco’ Cardona be without his banana? And Konrad Mizzi without his banana skins? What medico-satanic advice would Edwin Vassallo be able to share on his Facebook page without his beloved yellow curve of succulent delight?
To make matters worse, Minister Bartolo insists on trying to distract the public by opening a new school and extending vocational education. But we banana lovers aren’t fooled. We won’t rest until he brings back what will make the real difference in our children’s primary education: bananas.