“Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences” said the writer Robert Louis Stevenson. This is particularly apt for the situation the country finds itself in at the moment, where we are having to face the far-reaching effects of corruption on a gargantuan scale.
The latest revelations about the rotten Electrogas deal show that Maltese citizens will be paying some €40 million, which should have been paid by Electrogas. This is because under Maltese and EU law, import or excise taxes must be paid on certain goods such as liquified natural gas (LNG) or its conversion to electricity.
When the power station tender was published, it was clearly stated that the winning bidder would be responsible for all taxes. Since the project was awarded to Electrogas, it should have borne this tax burden. But when Electrogas directors realised that this would eat into their profits, there was a lot of furious whining and a flurry of e-mails exchanged between them.
Konrad Mizzi was tourism minister at the time but his intervention seemed to have had an effect. The former Enemalta chairman “clarified” that the taxes would be absorbed by Enemalta.
And just like that, the Maltese taxpayer was saddled with another multi-million-euro bill (in addition to the higher fuel prices we are paying because of another aspect of the Electrogas deal).
One of the most worrying aspects of this €40 million waiver is pinning down who is responsible for it. Who gets to carry the can for gifting a dodgy outfit millions of euros which could have been spent on hospitals, medical services, social services, increasing pensions and other worthy causes? Who was ultimately responsible for this?
A democracy cannot function without a clear chain of command where actions can be attributed to specific persons. Since the decision to bear the excise tax burden was taken by Enemalta, there should be a record of the minutes of the board of directors of Enemalta, showing how and why such a decision was taken and who voted for it.
Directors of parastatal entities such as Enemalta are paid fortunes to represent the interests of shareholders – the government of Malta and – by extension all Maltese citizens. Directors cannot take these responsibilities lightly, playing fast and loose with taxpayers’ money with absolutely no accountability and no transparency.
It was also the board of directors of Enemalta (with some changes to its composition) which approved the suspect Montenegro wind farm deal. Doesn’t anyone ensure whether these directors are fit for purpose? Does no one check whether they are delivering for the country – or for other more obscure reasons?
Do these directors continue getting appointed to plum roles in other state entities shielded by relative anonymity, transporting their mode of doing things in other sectors?
When addressing the Chamber of Commerce recently, the prime minister said that good governance is key to economic growth. That’s true, but it is also true that good governance is an uphill struggle, an exercise in persistence to drain the swamp.
Good governance is an uphill struggle, an exercise in persistence to drain the swamp- Claire Bonello
However, it is not too much to ask to identify the decision makers of such questionable deals and call them to account. It’s not as if directors on state entities are total unknowns. Ignoring these issues will have a knock-on effect on the country as we sink further in the morass of corrupt deals.
The situation in the country at present reminds me of the words uttered by the Nigerian Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie who said, “Nigeria is a sinking ship being navigated by pirates. There is need to take urgent steps to rescue Nigeria from the hands of brigands. Not to do so would amount to flirting with violence. The current level of corruption is dangerous.”
It’s a quote which is equally applicable here – ordinary citizens cannot be expected to gag and choke on the banquet of consequences brought about by rogue agencies.
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In the coming days, many of the trees along the Rabat road will face the chop and the iconic approach to Mdina will be lost forever.
Black asphalt will be laid on part of the rolling fields around Attard in what is expected to signal the urbanisation of the plain between the Quad Towers in Mrieħel and the outskirts of Ta’ Qali.
This is the Central Link project – an ill-conceived, unsustainable road-widening folly which falls foul of practically every scientific, planning and environmental principle.
It is touted as being a solution to bottle necks, a short-term measure to ease the flow of vehicles along the road when the applicable legislation and planning policies specifically advocate against increasing road capacity.
Every traffic expert of worth will agree that widening roads induces greater car use. And that is private car use – the kind of use which will get us nowhere if we’re trying to adopt a modal shift.
There is no provision for dedicated bus lanes along the Central Link route – so buses will be stuck in traffic anyway.
So much for the superficial twaddle about improving public transport. The main reason why people don’t catch buses is because they’re always stuck in traffic – and this isn’t catered for in the Central Link project.
Road construction is environmentally destructive and promotes urban sprawl, congestion and air pollution.
The government bulldozed ahead with this project because it can.
Government projects are exempted from adhering to any planning and environmental laws, which is carte blanche for cack-handed, unsustainable projects.
Like all the other suspect projects forced through by this government, made palatable by constant PR blitzes, this project will bear bitter fruit which will be evident in the years to come. We will realise what we have lost far too late.