Political cronyism is not new to Malta. It was certainly not born in 2013. The sad habit of appointing as directors or chairs of authorities or corporations persons chosen from among the ruling party aficionados is nothing new. This practice was certainly not born in 2013.

Joseph Muscat just continued milking a system that was put in place by successive Nationalist governments in the previous 25 years. What changed in 2013 is that the present Prime Minister just upped the ante in order to be able to try and appease the insatiable greed of his cronies.

Let us go back around 30 years. The Nationalist Party had just won its 1987 election, finally managing to oust an inept government headed by Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, but in reality led by corrupt ministerial bully, Lorry Sant. The Nationalist Party electoral machine was headed by Austin Gatt who, a few months later, was to be elected secretary general of the party.

The Nationalist electoral machine was known as Elcom and a good number of the volunteers who successfully worked on the project of trying to oust the corrupt government of the time consisted of university students, mainly studying in the Faculty of Laws. Once in power, a good number of these university students were appointed as directors of various state boards and entities. It did seem strange to me that people who had hardly any experience of working life should be given such positions of responsibility.

Come 2013, and Muscat replicated what happened in Gatt’s time, citing the Tu quoque (“You did the same”) argument as justification. So we find young journalists, candidates, students appointed to various boards on the grounds that they were coming from the ruling party’s political stable.

But Muscat did not stop there. He really raised the stakes when it came to the top nominees. Take, for example James Piscopo, Kurt Farrugia, Gino Cauchi and Frederick Azzopardi. One common thread that binds their destiny together is that they were not only Labour Party functionaries, in some way or other, but they are all still sub-delegates in the Labour Party electoral machine, all faithfully overseeing the counting of votes at the Naxxar counting hall, come every election.

It would seem that under Muscat’s premiership a sine qua non requirement in order to qualify as chairman of a top authority, thus pocketing a handsome salary ranging from €60,000 to €120,000, is that of being a seasoned sub-delegate of the Labour Party.

Infrastructure Malta and its bullying bulldozing leadership have become a serious danger to our country

Of course, unlike the PN’s young students, we are here talking about fully-fledged men, with work experience in their curriculum vitae. But this does not necessarily always translate into a guarantee of value for money or of ethical integrity. My question is: Did Keith Schembri spread his tentacles all over our institutions through particular men?

Let us take the case of Azzopardi, the chair of Infrastructure Malta. Net news reports that Yorgen Fenech wants Inspector Keith Arnaud to recuse himself because Schembri found a job for the inspector’s wife at Infrastructure Malta. This agency was set up only 15 months ago. Yet, in the space of these 15 months, it has managed to break rules, regulations and laws a number of times.

The much-vaunted Tal-Balal road-widening project has been a textbook example of multiple illegalities. This project was started by Infrastructure Malta without having applied for a planning permit. Then, bulldozers entered people’s private property without any prior notice and agricultural land and other areas outside the building zones (ODZ) were dug up without permit.

The Maltese Cultural Heritage Superintendence lamented that it had been prevented from evaluating the possible impact of the project on any archaeological remains while “Transport Malta indicated that the Tal-Balal project was full of illegalities including wrong signage, distorted cycle lanes, incomplete pedestrian paths and several other irregular features”.

  The Times of Malta then revealed that more than two kilometres of what had been described in the permit as rubble walls are actually fake illegal rubble walls. And, until a few weeks ago, the newspaper reported that sources close to the PA said that the Tal-Balal project is peppered with illegalities and no architect had yet been found to take responsibility for it.

Despite all this saga, the gridlock in the San Ġwann-Mekkek area remains constant.

The Infrastructure Malta bulldozing attitude continued in Santa Lucija, where infrastructural works were still ongoing while archaeological investigations had not yet been concluded.

And now we have had the disgusting behaviour by Infrastructure Malta at Wied Qirda, where it is not only public opinion that has been ignored, but even the stop and compliance order issued by the Environment and Resources Authority itself.

Infrastructure Malta and its bullying bulldozing leadership have become a serious danger to our country… literally changing the face of it, even illegally. How come this arrogance and bullying goes on unchecked? Is it fear of the capomafia behind our institutions?

Infrastructure Malta is also being given responsibility for the Central Link Project, the St Andrew’s-Pembroke project and the Gozo tunnel.

Can you imagine how scores of thousands of Maltese lives will be impacted because of the arrogant ways of this agency and its leadership?

Do not let them screw up our country… your life and that of your children in the process.

Arnold Cassola, academic and politician, is former secretary general of the European Green Party and former member of the Italian Parliament.