This is a post I wrote on 29 April 2013
The Prime Minister has appointed his best, lifelong friend and current chief of staff, Keith Schembri, to the board of Smart City Malta.
This is a significant appointment which should be examined and kept under constant scrutiny by the press. Schembri is the owner of a whole raft of businesses, which include deal-brokering on large equipment and raw supplies contracts.
We know that he visited Tripoli and Dubai (home of the Smart City investors) with Joseph Muscat (then leader of the Opposition) at a time when he had no official role with the Labour Party except as head of its so-called ‘energy committee’ and working on electoral funds and strategy.
Keith Schembri is now in a position where he can maximise his private business contacts and opportunities. This is why he should be kept under scrutiny by the press, especially in view of his now direct involvement in Smart City.
But there are other areas where the opportunities to which he is exposed by means of his job are going to be huge and difficult to resist. The opportunities may, in fact, be the only reason he is there.
We know already that the Labour Party sees nothing wrong with this kind of thing – except when it presents an opportunity to target the political enemy. Muscat welcomed the corrupt John Dalli with open arms.
I think there’s going to be so much snatching and grabbing over the next five years that it is going to be really difficult for anyone to keep track, especially with Top Investigative Malta Today still unable or unwilling to shift its focus from the Nationalist Party, which is now powerless, to the Labour Party in government. I can’t see them going after Keith Schembri even though there are really serious issues there.
L to R: Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, his chief of staff and best friend Keith Schembri, and his chief of communications Kurt Farrugia (not kneeling or standing a step below)
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Ramona and Jonathan have made their first appearance on ONE’s breakfast show.
So much for transparency.
And she used a ministerial car to get back to Valletta afterwards.
Hallas, ja poplu bahnan. Tajjart il-gid biex issa tghix fil-mizerja.
So if the Minister makes a surprise visit to the secretariat and finds these two absent, no need to ask where they are then, turn on TV and voila.
If you allow political parties to own TV stations then this is what happens. Tip of the iceberg I suspect.
So Franco Mercieca started a trend, didn’t he?
I’m pretty sure the offices need all the design services, furniture and building engineering systems they can get.
X’cuc hu Berlusconi bil-kunflitt ta’ interess.
Corruption within the PL is matter of fact.
It is only of news value when associated with the PN.
I am not referring specifically to Malta Today but to the entire country.
If I’m not mistaken, Keith tal-Kasco has a yearly salary of 40K.
Who, in his right frame of mind, would leave a business empire for that amount?
The offer to make double the amount.
He leaves the business empire only on paper. Imagine you are a provider of printing material and you have to compete with Kasco for a government tender. What a shame. How can businessmen form part of a PM’s or minister’s secretariat. This never happened under the Nationalists.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130428/local/Smart-City-head-promises-tenants-in-coming-weeks.467470
Maybe Joseph Muscat plans to move parliament to SmartCity?
I have a suspicion that the Piano building will be used as a Labour supermarket – can the Malta Tana Lkoll government confirm or deny this?
Mhux ta’ b’xejn jaghnqu Keith lil Joseph Muscat.
Veru kaz ta’ hokkli dari ha nhokklok tieghek.
Insomma fi zmien il-gvernijiet Laburisti Kastillja dejjem b’nies bhal dawn kienet mimmlija.
Imma li tapponta bniedem bhal Keith Schembri fuq Smart City hija haga gravissima u tqajjem suspetti serjissimi.
But did you expect otherwise? Muscat, quite rightly is rewarding all those who were promised something or other for their election effort. It has always been like that with Labour and it will always remain so. The Nationalists have another way of thinking (favour :abour, perhaps you will get their vote – some hopes!!
[Daphne – I don’t know why you think that use public roles and public money to ‘reward’ those who have done you a favour is “quite right”. It is actually deeply wrong.]
Re: The Top Investigative Malta Today (TIMT?):
Giet f’idejja bicca mill-gazzetta ‘Illum’ li tohrog mill-istess stalla (!) tal-Malta Today. Fiha kolonna (tal-artikli) bl-isem “SAVIOUR BALZAN JITKELLEM”.
Bejni w bejn ruhi ghidt: Ar’hemm hej, se jitkellem l-Oraklu! Min jahseb li hu? Ezatt kif ghidt int: it-Top Investigator tal-gurnalizmu Malti.
Wara ftit ghaddieli minn mohhi li b’dak il-‘heading’ donnu kulhadd jibza’ jitkellem u ta’ eroj li hu SB qed jisfida l-kurrent billi ‘jitkellem’.
Ezatt taht, kien hemm it-titlu: “Xmun, biex tiskongra trid tkun pur, tafx?” Saviour, ix-xempju tal-purita’ w integrita’, kien qed jirreferi ghal Simon Busuttil.
Mhux bi hsiebni nghabbikom bid-dettalji tal-argument ghax wara kollox ma qrajtx x’qal, hlief ghall-ewwel zewg paragrafi.
Ftakart biss li x’imkien tul il-kampanja ta’ tmaqdir li mexxiet il-Malta Today lejn il-PM Gonzi u l-Gvern tieghu fl-eqqel tal-kampanja elettorali, SB kien qal li dak in-nhar tal-elezzjoni kien se jsiefer biex ma jivvutax.
Min jaf x’ghamel?
Imma kif kul meta jkun hemm xi argument u jkun ser jigi zviluppat kontra l-gvern, Salvu jaqta’ l-argument u jwaqqaf li dak li jkun?
Only one word can describe this article written within days of the last general election, prophetic.