Domestic and national meritocracy

During a recent Nationalist Party executive meeting, former minister John Dalli was quoted as saying that "the party must use better the human resources within it". I would go further and change "party" to "country" as this is not simply a problem that has created a great sense of frustration and exasperation within the PN's structures. Indeed, Mr Dalli was putting his finger on a very sore wound which has been festering for too long and which has sickened and weakened the roots of the nation.

This reference to human resources, the only resources in the country, is a very commonly used expression. Indeed, it seems as if nowadays a speech of some solemnity without mention of human resources lacks something indispensable.

Everybody agrees that we can only count on human resources in this land. With the exception, of course, of the artificially energetic ones, one may wish to rush to Kercem before an election, to create entertaining diversion from the nation's problems and lull the electorate into a false sense of euphoria. A more dishonest strategy of political hoodwinking does not exist, with the exception, perhaps, of that of declaring on the eve of an election that your political rival had prevented, years ago, your son from entering university. There are places where a terrible fabrication of this type will lead you to early retirement. In Malta it leads you to the highest post of the land.

These intelligent strategies of the right may lack political correctness but may be promoted by opportunistic ad hoc strategy groups within a party. Surely strategic initiatives may be bereft of political cleanliness without necessarily shocking Bendu's sheep. But the country is not all made up of such meek animals and cynicism nowadays goes down less well than it used to be in spite of intelligent strategy. The proof is the result of three terrible conclusions to the last three elections, which some self-mocking people want to bury into the ground along with their heads.

Meritocracy in Malta is not taken seriously at all and at the same time we keep saying it's the only thing that will save us. This is, of course, only what we say - not what we do. What we do is to ignore the seriousness and progress meritocracy would bring to this land and replace it with massive nepotism and invent all sorts of insensitive taxes to compensate for the errors and squandering resulting from the promotions we offer to the idiots around us who can hardly walk or stutter.

If one takes a look at the noticeboard of the Public Service Commission one will see calls for applications or results of interviews in the public service where academic qualifications are allotted 20 per cent or even 15 per cent of the interviewing board's meritocratic judgement. I stand to be corrected but it seems to me that the PSC has the right to refuse the interviewing board's criteria of meritocracy. If it does, how often has it done it?

Do commissions and interviewing boards in Malta, as against those in countries where meritocracy is more linked to academic qualifications, realise that the bottom line of the promotion of cosmetic qualifications can only lead to placing doubtful competence in sensitive and responsible posts? And then we speak of exploitation of the best human resources!

This is the way human resources are weighed, estimated and valued in this country. We first complain about our lack of natural resources and then we proceed to discourage our best-qualified citizens with a maximum of 20 per cent real, solid, academic merit. Of course, meritocracy may also mean your capacity to talk well, walk well and dance well. It's all a quick step in the right direction; that of rhumbaing and belly dancing to the nation's top posts and proceeding immediately to make a ceremonious nincompoop of oneself locally and abroad. Gate-crashers in the meritocratic field remain eternally proficient at taking the cow by the horns and attempting to milk the bull.

Some time ago the Minister of Foreign Affairs explained in Parliament that recent meritocratically appointed ambassadors were familiar with the culture and even a variant of the national language of their posts. Great heavens! Please open the floodgates of foreign investment. When this hits us in a tsunami fashion, we must be prepared. You see, linguistic meritocracy is the key to successful prodding of investment out of a foreign country.

Former Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami used to say about foreign policy that we must not be afraid. Let's not have an inferiority complex. No doubt we can survive among greater nations. And presto we proceeded to employ foreign experts in areas where we could have used our own at lower salaries and fewer fringe benefits. So much for overcoming an inferiority complex in our human resources!

In some cases we adored the professionalism and expertise of sophisticated technocrats who had failed miserably in their country. But this Christian land has always offered its honey to genii who are not sufficiently appreciated by the interviewing boards in their homeland. And as regards your scepticism about the foreign experts' handling of local problems, well stop annoying me with your silly doubts! For people will not be running after work but work will be chasing them. Not a bad idea really. Pity it's just an idea!

A great investment discovery in Malta was that of hiring highly-paid, copiously meritocratic consultants. We may come across one behind every street corner, on every bus stop, on every zebra crossing, explaining to us that if we cross diagonally we will take a few seconds more to cross. Pleeeeze consult me! You will not regret it. Neither will I!

Mr Dalli's worry, as expressed above, is not a joke. A party that does not exploit its best human resources will hardly attempt to practice meritocracy on a national basis when in government. And the intra-party disgruntlement becomes a national one, from a hushed whisper of unhappiness with one's own political family to a roar of discontent in reaction to obvious injustice, to a determined negative vote when the time comes "to teach them". And with it the unhappiness will bring a stampede of rats abandoning the stinking sinking ship.

A Commission For Meritocracy is badly needed in this land. This would be made up of honest, highly qualified locals of both sexes. The CFM would delve into all parodies of nominations and promotions. It would have the right to investigate individuals allegedly receiving what is not theirs and reverse all that they have sucked out unmeritedly from the country's bad finances based on the suffering of common people. The CFM would have the right to investigate all interviewing boards and demand rational explanations on how such and such a decision was arrived at. Yes heads will have to be chopped off for we can no longer live the lie of pontificating about the correct exploitation of human resources while bleeding the country to swell the leeches.

And the country will have started its way towards real meritocracy, a state of affairs where the best Maltese human resources are placed in the most responsible positions.

And the Kercem oil well will only be considered as one unlucky joker.