How taxpayer's money is spent

Call me an armchair critic if you will but, if you excuse the pun, I cannot sit back and not express my concern about a matter as important as the expenditure of public funds.

It seems obvious to all who want to see that our government might have lost the plot and is, once again, oblivious to public opinion and concern. Tancred Tabone, a former chairman of Enemalta Corporation, recently made the serious accusation that "the authorities have surrounded themselves with people who think they know too much for their own good".

The Cabinet of ministers undoubtedly has positive attributes but one area where it surely needs to hone its skills is "good business practice" when it comes to spending substantial amounts of taxpayers' money.

I shall quote a few glaring examples that come to mind and that occurred over the past 10 years.

In 1999, the government disposed of, or should I say gave away, Mid Med Bank to HSBC for the equivalent of under €200 million. In only 10 years, the value of this bank has increased six-fold and it is now worth close to €1,200 million. It also makes a profit in the region of €100 million annually. Good deal? Definitely, but only for HSBC.

A few years later, the government decided to enter the world of property development when it forked out in the region of €25 million (I do not yet know the exact amount) to purchase and refurbish an office block named Dar Malta, situated in what is probably the most expensive location in Brussels. Presumptuous? Yes. Wise decision? Definitely not.

After many years of coming and going, the government courageously decided that the time had come to privatise Malta Shipyards and as part of this process it downsized the workforce at a cost of some €50 million to make the enterprise more attractive to prospective buyers. I obviously assumed that this money would be recouped from the proceeds of privatisation but it is now being rumoured that the proceeds will not even amount to €10 million. Is there any truth in this?

More recently, as part of a reform of public transport, the government has offered bus owner/drivers €55 million in compensation for their buses and licences as well as a guaranteed job for 10 years! Compensation for what, might I ask? Even the normally non-vociferous Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry has expressed its "utter disbelief" at this decision.

Taxes cannot be squandered in this manner. If the government is so concerned about the bus owners' plight, it should provide for this in the new bidding process. If compensation is due, then it must be paid by the new operators and not by the taxpayer!

Finally, we have the never-ending Valletta City Gate project, which has been on the cards for more than 50 years! I understand that the government has received more than 1,000 objections to this extravaganza that we are told will cost €80 million but, going by what normally happens with public projects, could well end up costing closer to €100 million.

The Prime Minister will soon be meeting Renzo Piano again but, in strange cloak-and-dagger style, he will not divulge what he is going to discuss. I can only hope that he will tell him to radically change his tack and scrap the plans for a new Parliament building.

The other day, I spent some time in St George's Square, Valletta and I must admit that I have never been as favourably impressed by this square as I am now. It is a tremendous improvement on what there was. Freedom Square could be treated in the same manner with the added benefit of an underground car park and the country would end up with an impressive entrance to Valletta and at a much reduced cost.