It beggars belief. In the week when the country was shaken to the core by the charges against Keith Schembri and the Nexia BT gang, among others, the prime minister ramped up the spin and called a press conference to launch a White Paper. What about? Ah, something of vital national importance – his so-called the ‘responsible’ use of cannabis.

So, here we have a former OPM supremo, Schembri, standing accused of crimes committed before and after he became the country’s second most powerful man. The Nexia BT gang members were similarly accused of very serious crimes. And, the prime minister speaks about cannabis.

To be clear, all concerned claim innocence (and their presumption of innocence is their right). But evidence given in court has shocked all those who still have an iota of decency running in their veins.

Since that fateful press conference, Caritas, Oasi and the Malta Psychiatrists Association have shot the proposed ‘reform’ clean out of the water. On the other hand, the government can find solace in the fact that the association of cannabis smokers and Adrian Zammit, the colourful influencer from Marsa, have endorsed the reform.

But things got worse during the press conference.

As was to be expected, journalists were more interested in the mega-scandals being revealed in court than in ‘responsible’ use of cannabis.

The prime minister made a statement which I checked and rechecked several times as I could not believe my ears.

Clean air, dirty dealings?

“But let us not attack any projects that have brought us a lot of good,” Abela said pleaded, in a heartfelt entreaty.

“The Electrogas project has brought us cheaper electricity bills and a higher quality of life.”

I beg your pardon, prime minister? Electrogas brought us a lot of good?

Do cheaper electricity bills and cleaner air justify the project dubbed as the mother of all corruption and the probable father of an assassination?

Are we to believe that cleaner air and cheaper bills justify all this rot? Could we not have had a better quality of air without being mired in corruption and a murder?

What happened here was not simply some government officials making a few millions on the side. Such a thing would have been bad enough. What happened was far worse. No one can just blame Schembri and Konrad Mizzi and then wash their hands of all that happened. All the government was mired in sins of commission or omission.

There were too many coincidences. There were too many instances when the government went out of its way to cover the backside of the ‘investors’ at the expense of common citizens. The culprits were defended in parliament and out of parliament. Critics of the corrupt deal were rubbished and dehumanised by ministers, MPs and the army of trolls.

Do cheaper electricity bills and cleaner air justify the project dubbed as the mother of all corruption and the probable father of an assassination?- Fr Joe Borg

Some ministers and MPs feigned ignorance of the facts, although the facts were glaringly manifest to all. Others did not want to lose their job because of the fat cheques and perks it brought with it. Others played the martyr card claiming that they stayed on to prevent worse things happening.

Quality of life improved for big business not common citizens

When worse things happened, they stayed warming their cosy seat which provided milk and honey in abundance.

During the compilation of evidence in the case against Yorgen Fenech accused of being the mastermind of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Inspector Kurt Zahra said that the police believe that the journalist was killed because of what she was going to publish on Electrogas.

Mr Prime Minister, Electrogas did not improve the quality of life of the Maltese. Electrogas improved the quality of life of the Gasans, the Fenechs and the Apap Bolognas. They were mega-millionaires before the project, and they will heap on other millions by its end.

The government, the Gasans, the Fenechs and the Apap Bolognas polluted our quality of life and not improved it.

Decent people expect the prime minister to launch serious investigations in all deals involving not only Mizzi and Schembri but also all deals involving big monied bullies involved in the Electrogas project.

Do not forget the Quad Towers

Let us, for starters, look at the Quad Towers in Mrieħel.

Mrieħel was not designated for the building of mega-towers. Indeed, the Planning Authority also had a policy to safeguard areas of high landscape value. The mega-towers effectively destroyed such an area: the views across the fields to Mdina. The Times of Malta revealed that one fine morning Fenech visited Castille for a meeting with the parliamentary secretary responsible for the Planning Authority. Lo and behold: the policy was changed on the same day. Tumas Group and Gasan Group were given their towers which they will milk for their profit at our loss.

Even someone who is extremely trusting can guess what happened during that fateful Castille meeting.

The Tumas Group, the Gasan Group and C.P. Holdings cannot just blame Fenech or try to distance themselves from his dealings while they continue to milk millions from the same dealings.

If for the prime minister all this means an improvement of our quality of life, I cannot but most strongly beg to differ.