Frank Sammut/Joseph Muscat/Malta Today
I see that the Labour Party has carried on with its collaboration with Malta Today, though whether it will survive the obviously quite imminent axing of Labour deputy leader Toni Abela, who is Malta Today’s lawyer, remains to be seen.
Maybe his close ties to Saviour Balzan and Malta Today are Toni Abela’s only remaining leverage with his party in these trying times for him, as he is left kneeling beneath the guillotine.
But more about that in an upcoming post.
Meanwhile, Frank Sammut and that nasty business with Enemalta purchasing. I read the story in Malta Today and I also listened to Joseph Muscat speak about it at the JOSEPHMUSCAT.COM mass meeting yesterday afternoon.
Both were deliberately misleading, but Joseph Muscat was by far the worse and the more dishonest.
He spoke as though it was Malta Today which unearthed the information, when the inside story I have (international worldwide network of spies & c & c) is that Labour gave the story to Malta Today, then threw up its hands in shock and ran with it.
In other words, they distanced themselves from the actual generation of the story, which is a way of keeping themselves distant from any potential negative fall-out.
Muscat praised Malta Today and then said “Ghamlu sew ta’ Malta Today li qalu lill-pulizija biex jiehdu azzjoni…”. It was actually the prime minister who did that, but Muscat – who has had years of training in lying and manipulation in his stellar career as a Super One propagandist – wasn’t about to say this.
He also made it seem as though the kickbacks were paid only last week, that the corruption is ongoing, and that this is the reason the new Delimara power station runs on heavy fuel oil.
But Frank Sammut left Enemalta in JUNE 2004 – almost nine years ago and years before the Delimara power station was a twinkle in anyone’s eye.
This fact hasn’t even been reported in the media, still less been given the prominence it should have been given in the interest of making sure that readers and listeners are not thoroughly misinformed.
I think Enemalta, as the organisation concerned, should release a statement immediately. A private sector organisation would have done so yesterday morning.
Oh, and another thing: Frank Sammut is a Laburist. But then what do you expect.
20 Comments Comment
Leave a Comment
So what if the PL gave the story to Malta Today? This is how journalism works in Malta. And everybody knows that.
[Daphne – I love it. Someone who has never worked in journalism delivering a lecture on how Maltese journalism works to somebody who has worked in Maltese journalism for the last quarter of a century. Mur aqbez ‘l hemm, Albert. That is NOT how journalism works in Malta. The Labour Party has a giant media machine of its own – newspapers, radio, internet sites, television, the works. So why didn’t they release their own story themselves? Quite simply because the people they employ at Super One etc are by definition not journalists, but propagandists. A real journalist would have released his own story. This is a political machine we’re talking about and Malta Today has become part of it.]
Even stray cats know that Castille feeds The Times regularly (or used to do, as there seems to have occurred some change of tack at The Times recently. Their support to Gonzi is not so unconditional any more). So what’s the big deal?
[Daphne – Let’s see. How can I spell this out without causing you offence. The government is distinct from the Nationalist Party. The Nationalist Party has a media machine. The government does not. Imagine if communications coordinators for government agencies and ministries were to feed information to the PN media machine, what would you say and what would that be like? Governments leak stories all over the world. They leak them to independent newspapers. But when political parties have a media machine, they use it instead of using others.]
The information has come out. So what if Sammut is Laburist or Nazzjonalist?
[Daphne – What do you mean, so what? It’s a crucial bit of information. The main crux of the story is that he is somehow some Nazzjonalist tal-klikka, taking bribes in collaboration with Austin Gatt. I figured he had to be Labour. This is the CLASSIC Labour mentality, I’m afraid. Classic. Ask Karmenu Vella and his friends. I bet they can really relate to that.]
Why this obsession of keeping people divided. He was appointed by the PN government. The facts happened in 2004….it doesnt mean that their seriousness has disappeared. And the hard facts we came to know are probably only the tip of the iceberg.
[Daphne – Obsession with keeping people divided: ah, so we’re on message again, are we, Albert. ‘Moviment’. ‘Malta Taghna Lkoll’. ‘I’m not interested in whether a person is red or blue.’ What bollocks. I mean really, what utter bollocks. The division is not political. It’s CULTURAL. I guess that hasn’t dawned on you or JosephMuscat.com yet, has it. And by cultural I don’t mean social background. I mean general attitude. I can always tell how people vote by the way they speak and by their general outlook, even when they’re not speaking about politics.]
Whatever. I am beginning to think you actually believe your own spin. Government and PN distinct? Honestly here, what percentage of people do you think believe this? You mean to say that when Lawrence Gonzi walks into his PN office at Stamperija on Wednesday, he leaves all government duties in a package at the receptionist’s desk?
[Daphne – No, it means that the two are distinct. This is a VERY difficult concept for Labour supporters to understand because Labour governments do not make that distinction, with disastrous consequences for the country.]
And when he comes out he collects it again? Same thing Austin Gatt? Let’s be a bit realistic here can we? To be fair, I do not think that closeness between government and ruling party is in itself wrong. What IS wrong is that there are no checks and balances. That most of the media is too scared to reveal what really goes on behind the closed doors of government and the parties.
[Daphne – If things are going on behind closed doors, Albert, then it follows that the media has no access to those goings-on and so cannot report them even if they wanted to. How does ‘scared’ come into it? Or does the government, in your mind, take great care to invite the press in before it ‘closes those doors’?]
Now we have facts. And what you are trying to imply is that these facts are somehow less of a fact because they were leaked by Labour. Don’t shoot the messenger. Attack the problem.
Hopefully this is what the majority will do come March 9th, after the PN (or was it the government) decided on a very long election campaign thus keeping the country without a budget for a further 3 months at least. So much for finanzi fis-sod!
Actually I dont think that he was employed by the PN government. As far as I know he ran Mobc since ca 1979. http://www.worldbunkering.com/news/summer-2010/0272-malta.html
At the time the bunker barge’s name was Danny Cremona.
I believe Konrad Mizzi last week mentioned something to Tonio Fenech on Bondi+ on how fuel was being purchased. He might have known something already.
Konrad was in charge of IT, he would have had, amongst other things, access to emails.
There was another Mizzi once, who built an archive of secret dossiers on anyone who mattered on the island.
For Mintoff’s perusal.
When his office had to make way for the new switchroom at the Palace, the panic was incredible.
He wouldn’t let anyone handle the boxfiles.
Does this mean that fuel for AirMalta was purchased in the same way in the past?
It seems Konrad is another big mouth. He mentioned Algeria as a gas supplier and yes you’re spot on about Konrad asking Minister Fenech about how fuel was purchased.
Tomorrow the other big mouth will be celebrating his birthday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGirOlsSQUc
We will see how many “Ad multos annos” he will have on The Times comments board by his many fans!
And another crucial issue that needs to be addressed – if the Labour Party was the one that got hold of this information, and considering all this happened in 2004, I sincerely doubt that they got to know about this just now.
X’kumbinazzjoni, jahasra. And if they kept it hidden under wraps and decided to unleash this information during the campaign just to gain political mileage, they should be equally ashamed of themselves.
But then again, they might change their leader, their emblem, and their leader’s tie colour, but the basic political strategy remains the same. Mistra 2008 anyone?
What about Frank Portelli’s statement of some time back that top Enemalta people had made a lot of personal gain out of public contracts.
[Daphne – You have to be desperate to bolster your arguments by quoting Frank Portelli, not after recent developments and three years of watching him perform on Super One.]
And what about John Pace’s recent article on The Times about a “strong oil importers’ lobby”?
[Daphne – Did he name names? No, he did not. Unfortunately, I tend to be a bit cynical. I spend my working life having conspiracy theories, rumours and gossip thrown at me (and about me), so unless I am presented with facts and not conjecture, I lose patience.]
And what about the auditor general’s statements about “the smoke” but couldn’t find the fire?
[Daphne – Ditto, I’m afraid. Remember that I am supposed to fly around on my broom at night, and turn men into toads.]
Doesn’t it all point in one direction?
And what’s the relevance of “he’s a laburist”? Why should it matter what his political leanings are? Corruption is corruption.
[Daphne – Oh, it’s very relevant. This kind of ‘on the make’ attitude is so very Labour/switcher.]
And one other thing, I hate it when politicians tell the Police to investigate. Why the heck should the police force await any instructions from anyone?
[Daphne – They shouldn’t, and in fact, they don’t. They tend to work according to their political sympathies, as I discovered.]
And yet one other thing, as it seems you need reminding, about lying. The Prime Minister lied when deciding on the day of the elections. A deliberate lie he thought he’d get away with. Ghax hasibna cwiec! Haseb li mhux evidenti li s-siggu tal-poter ma jrid ihallih b’xejn. And that’s why I’m expecting the dirty tricks department of the PN to come up with strategy closer to d-day.
Hmieg ta’ veru.
[Daphne – What the hell are you on about? Lied when deciding the day of the election?]
Muscat said it to the prime minister on Xarabank: “Imma int zgur li ippublikajt kollox?” and he repeated it several times, so he must have known.
U qatt ma kien hawn korruzzjoni istituzzjonalizzata iktar milli fi zmienhu fejn il-mintoffjani ghamlu orgja ghax gia kienu f’xalata fi zmien il-Kbir Dom Mintoff. Dear Philip, Patrick Holland, inkomplu?
Joe Muscat asked Lawrence Gonzi during last Friday’s Xarabank whether he knew about the existence of other contracts linked to oil purchasing… was he referring to this? Then that’s enough proof that he knew about it before Malta Today.
Isn’t Enemalta a fortizza Laburista (similar to the Malta Drydocks, Malta shipbuilding and Air Malta)?
Any attempts to reform the organization have been blocked by the GWU which represents 90% + of the workers. Management of Enemalta is also dominated by MLP loyalists.
The PN should outline how much of Malta’s debt is a legacy of the MLP (8,000 workers employed in 1987, Drydocks and Enemalta).
One can only imagine how much new debt a new MLP government will accumulate, which will not be related to infrastructural projects.
Brilliant! Love the article and love the reply to Albert Farrugia. Spot on! Everyone needs to read this – I’m sharing it!
BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA
THE FINAL COMES DOWN TO UUUUU TOOOO!!!!!
HURRAY!!! MALTA WITHOUT DCG :-D
[Daphne – I can’t believe they’ve sold you that rubbish. But then you DO vote Labour. Now sit down, drink a cup of tea, and try to reason this over clearly: exactly how does a Labour government mean Malta without me? Planning to assassinate me with immunity, are you?]
ARE YOU GIVING LECTURES ABOUT JOURNALISM??!!! FROM WHERE DO BONDI+ THE STUPID BRINGS HIS STORIES AND ALL THE SHIT HE SAYS??!! LLOOLL!!!
UR MORE OF THE SAME
GONZIPN ->GAS DOWN GHAL GOL-HAJT
Oh, to have the last laugh!
This John sounds like he is angry at someone or something.
From The Malta Independent (and talk of Labour boomerangs..):
Frank Sammut was on Fuel Procurement Board in PL government
From Enemalta records it results that Dr Frank Sammut was a member of the Fuel Procurement Board in the 1996-1998 Labour administration when Enemalta was the political responsibility of the Leo Brincat, the Department of Information said.
From the same records it results that Sammut was not a member of the same committee in 2003 or 2004, when the alleged commissions were paid.
Dr Frank Sammut graduated from the University of Malta with a Masters in Chemistry and practised, among others, as a petroleum, bunkering and oil storage specialist. He worked with different companies until joining MOBC in 1988 where he was employed till 2004. During this time he held the following positions that are of relevance:
1987 – 1990 – Member of the Board of Directors of Enemalta
1987 – 1998 – Member Fuel Procurement Committee Enemalta
1992 – 1994 – Consultant to Chairman & Board of Directors Enemalta for Petroleum and Gas Divisions;
16 August 2003 – 15 August 2004 – Consultant to Chairman, Enemalta for a period of one year to “reorganise and rationise the storage of petroleum products at Enemalta” and “to give advice and make recommendations as necessary on the management and running of the Petroleum Division”.
Dr. Frank Sammut was employed by Mediterranean Offshore Bunkering Company Limited (MOBC) in 1988 and his employment was terminated on 13 July 2004 by letter from the Chairman which states:
“Following the decision taken by Cabinet and announced by the Hon. Minister Austin Gatt, MOBC will cease bunkering operations as being conducted at present.
In view of the above the post of CEO shall be abolished and I hereby give you notice of termination of your contract with the company.”
Since Dr Sammut had a three year contract with MOBC legal advice obtained was that he was due compensation and he was paid Lm 41,000 in compensation.
L-iktar haga difficli taghllem lil-injurant, john.