“I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself,
And falls on th’other...”

Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 7

In ancient Greece, the people had limitations for everything. Hubris describ-ed the act of exceeding tho-se limitations or thinking they could outsmart the gods. Similarly, the hubris oozing out of this Government’s orifices stinks to high heaven. Some ministries are falling over themselves in their quest to sound arrogant and act as such.

The Home Affairs Minister, I am sad to note, can claim the dubious honour of stooping low whenever confronted by incontrovertible facts showing the deceit and incompetence with which his ministry is being run.

Behaving omnipotently is no substitute for good governance. Breaking the law to dish out unjustified and illegal promotions, meting out vindictive transfers or concealing the truth from the public domain is not on.

In the above quote, Macbeth has no “spur”, no motivation, to prick on his intent, and so he can only draw on “vaulting ambition an intense desire for power, the same blind desire propelling this Government. And just as Macbeth’s desire vaults even beyond its intrinsic limits to land somewhere unknown and beyond reason, so does the conduct of the Home Affairs Minister.

Recently during Question Time in Parliament, I asked the Home Affairs Minister why no ministerial statement had been forthcoming after three very serious incidents took place in the Corradino Correctional Facility the previous fortnight.

The shroud of silence enveloping these events contrasted with the alacrity shown to issue official statements forthwith in the previous months by the same minister in similar cases.

The minister’s reply was to confirm what I had reported to the House while accusing me of having “wrought havoc with ongoing police investigations” and that “those investigations had now probably been nipped in the bud”. This very newspaper saw fit to headline thus: Home Affairs Minister Chastises MP For Jumping The Gun.

The three concealed cases concerned: a) a prison inmate found in the illegal possession of 60 steroid pills; b) three other prison inmates resulting positive for drugs; and c) another inmate attempting suicide with bed linen. All of these three cases had taken place several days before.

The three incidents took place after the minister declared that he had managed to stamp out the use of drugs within prison.

Was the minister being just in accusing me of jumping the gun, speaking as I did several days afterwards? Was he being consistent or was he drawing a red herring across the track?

Was the Home Affairs Minister being consistent or was he drawing a red herring across the track?

On April 13, l-orizzont reported that the previous day a small amount of drugs were found in the possession of two inmates during a raid directed by the Police Assistant Commissioner.

It was stated investigations by the Drugs Squad were still ongoing and not even the laboratory test results had been completed.

On August 27, the ministry released an official statement reporting that two prison wardens tested positive for drugs that same week. Police investigations were still ongoing.

On August 30 the ministry issued an official statement reporting that some hours, not days, before, drugs had been found in a van within the prison precincts. It was stated police investigations were underway. On April 1 and on September 4, two other official press releases immediately reported the death of two inmates.

Now let us not forget that on June 1, the minister proudly affirmed stricter controls were introduced to ensure drugs do not find their way into prison. He had revealed immediate steps were taken to improve the safety of prisoners and prison wardens.

So, when the Opposition reveals cases of drug trafficking and attempted suicide in prison, the minister accuses us of jumping the gun and hindering police work, and this from a government elected on a mantra of transparency.

But all is fine if, on the other hand, a Labour-leaning daily or his own ministry state the same in analogous situations during police investigations.

What is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander.

jason.azzopardi@gov.mt

Jason Azzopardi is Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and National Security.