Azerbaijan government beats Muscat’s in the transparency stakes
Published:
January 26, 2015 at 7:54pm
This piece was published in The Sunday Times yesterday. It quotes Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Malta, who spoke at the Malta Chamber of Commerce some days ago.
Azerbaijan’s memorandum of understanding with Malta, the ambassador said, is not “detailed” and there are “no numbers” in it, but it shows a general intent.
His government has presented it to the Azerbaijan parliament for ratification, and it will then become a “public document”. Muscat’s government, however, has kept it concealed, and has no intention – it appears – of tabling it in parliament.
Ah well. We’ll have to get it from Azerbaijan, then.
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They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Joseph Muscat will now lodge an official complaint with the Azeri dictatorship for excess of transparency.
He will officially request that the document should not be released to the Azeri public as it may ‘leak’ to the Maltese public. That would be intolerable. Unbelievable, Azerbaijan is officially more open and transparent that Malta under Joseph Muscat.
Doesn’t anybody realise that this is a conscious strategy by the Malta Labour Party?
If documents are not published, criticism can be coined as ‘negative’ and can be contained, if documents are public, criticism is effective and can not be contained any more. Joseph Muscat is limiting the damage, that’s all.
Precisely.
In addition, we are not in the loop about any other “gifts” by Azerbaijan to Malta. By this I mean the type where networked offers are made at say 5 degree connections.
This is Joseph Muscat’s style of payback or clearing the path.
I would be very wary about any visit to Azerbaijan, knowing how easy it would be for them to stage an accident for a local “critic” or dissenter.
He can also file a case of breach of confidentiality clause in the Aliyev Court of Baku, in terms of the Azerbaijan law on the subject, known as The Aliyev Transparency and Confidentiality – Reasonable Excuses Act.
Such MOUs, like the one with Libya, are not worth the paper printed on.
Nor the visit.
Hands up those of you who think that the fugitive Libyan government currently holed up in Tobruk has bothered to carry with it a copy of the Memorandums of Understanding with Manuel Mallia and Joseph Muscat?
Those pieces of paper have probably been reduced to ashes already in one of the ISIS attacks on government offices in Tripoli.
Talking about Muscat’s democratic and transparent friends, what can we do to make sure that he knows, that we know, this is what he supports and befriends:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.upworthy.com%2Fkim-jong-un-would-really-hate-for-you-to-watch-this-which-is-exactly-why-you-should%3Fc%3Dreccon3&h=_AQF6wIWW
Muscat’s friends, the Chinese:
”L-Ambaxxata Ċiniża tirtira ċ-ċittadinanza u l-passaport Ċiniż ta’ Bin Han.” Malta Right Now
So China has decided not to wait for the court’s verdict. Are we to believe that China had nothing to do with the modus operandi at Leisure Clothing?
http://maltarightnow.com/news/2015/01/25/l-ambaxxata-ciniza-tirtira-c-cittadinanza-u-l-passaport-ciniz-ta-bin-han/
If I remember correctly a discussion during the now infamous sale of passport law debate concerned the Opposition’s threat that it would withdraw passports of non-bona fide applicants and that doing so would be impossible.
Well, our Joe now has been shown how possible that can be by his friends in China.
Was he assured of another?
Joey is true to his word.
He promised ‘transparenza’ and that is exactly what we got.
Everything is see-through.
I prefer ‘invisible’.
This evening, Opposition shadow minister Marthese Portelli was brilliant in her arguments with the Lap Dancing Minister who appeared in place of Konrat Mizzi on Saviour Balzan’s Reporter to discuss energy issues, including the government’s theft on the prices of petrol and diesel.
The Lap Dance Minister’s face was in pain when Saviour Balzan announced that Konrat could not make it to the program. I am convinced that the Lap Dance Minister was trying to hide the real reason why Konrat was not there.
Which hole was Konrat hiding in?
Program is being repeated on TVM right now.
Konrad Mizzi did not attend parliament today but did make it on the trip which Sai Mizzi organized for him to discuss traditional Chinese Medicine, but true to this government we are not told who else was with him. Its only our health after all.
Fine way to negotiate our health!
But then as long as the trip is being organized by the best paid trip organizer in Malta/China, the government does not need to give a hoot as to how knowledgeable the person doing the negotiating is, does it?
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2015-01-27/local-news/Rare-news-on-Sai-Mizzi-s-work-she-organised-husband-s-trip-to-traditional-medicine-centres-in-China-6736129593
Konrat Mizzi had assured The Times and other news media in this video clip that Ms. Mizzi Liang would not be covering areas related to his Ministry, which at the time comprised only of energy and water conservation.
If she does, this would be cause for serious concern due to conflict of interest. Worse still, it would amount to the Minister himself appointing his own wife, indirectly through Malta Enterprise, to do work in his own Ministry.
So now we have her interfering with his Ministry – in health.
Isn’t this a serious breach of his own standards set in here?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130924/local/konrad-mizzi-sees-no-reason-to-rersign.487530
Incidentally, in this same interview, Konrat Mizzi, visibly under extreme pressure on all fronts, had assured the gathering of journalists that the gas project was on track.
The Shame On You Minister must go. For his good only.
Unbelievable and I remember what fuss they made at the time of signing this piece of paper. I had the impression that Malta made a big deal that would solve our problems for the next decade.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150127/opinion/Groped-on-a-Labour-bus.553577
Excellent article by Ivan Fenech
I hope that Transparency International is taking note.
But I am not holding my breath.
We just saw the report where we are told we have mediocre medical outcomes but true to form it is treated like water off a duck’s back. That’s the best way to kill a story when you have things to hide.
We will soon be hearing propaganda articles about how good we are and since most do not read reports, the sun will be shining in no time.
http://www.healthpowerhouse.com/files/EHCI_2014/local/EHCI_2014_release_MT.docx
More on the transparency front:
For all those, who like me, felt there was something not being said regarding the settlement of the cabin crew baguette dispute when it was reported settled, it is good to know that our alarm bells are well tuned.
The crew were bought off to accept the baguette by giving them a 5% cut on in-flight sales.
The need for a healthy hot meal as stipulated by the collective agreement morphed into more money making for the crew. Pity no one was transparent enough to state what the in-flight sales figures are at the moment. The figure of course will rise when passengers find themselves without a meal.
Transparency indeed.
Such MOUs are worth more than the paper on which they are written. That is not in economic terms, but as a propaganda tool and as an indication of the way the inclination of government’s policy is taking.
When the inclination is assessed against opportunity cost, what would you say emerges as a positive value from this visit, besides knowledge of the fact that it happened?
In real terms, not in what we are meant to have explained and tabled in Parliament, transparently and matter of course?
Should we be contenting ourselves with glimpses of inclination whilst Malta slides ever backwards, or with having to discover what this Government is up to only to find – as with Shiv Nair – that it’s something that shouldn’t be happening? – as with the Passport scam – that was never fully explained and clarified? – as with the energy contracts – that were never fully published, nor the Power Station built?
This Government continually falls short of accountability standards. The tid bits hidden in foreign press releases like an idiot’s treasure trail to nothing make me very angry.
Its policy is deception.
Why should we have inclinations and indications when the Government is accountable to Parliament and the electorate?
Or should be but isn’t?
You have used the term “positive value”. I have not.
Malta’s the hardest country to open a business amongst its European neighbours according to – http://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/what-every-european-country-is-worst-at and yet is the most optimistic about its future – http://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/what-every-european-country-is-best-at-the-best-things-about-eu-nations