Norman Vella makes a point about the very different way in which the previous government handled corruption investigations
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February 19, 2014 at 12:28pm
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Justice is done according to the wishes of the Prime Minister.
Welcome to the Banana Republic of Malta!
Corruption investigations in liberal and progressive Malta serve as a publicity stunt aimed at lulling the average citizen into a false sense of security and at systematically weakening any argument by the Opposition.
Polarisation increases as apologists on both sides of the fence defend their political parties rather than tackle the real issues at stake as Norman Vella points out.
Such investigations mask the real issues including the private jet arrival from Azerbaijan, the lost EU funding for the hotel industry, the swelling of government departments with over paid and incapable lackeys and the general decline in moral and ethical standards across the board.
Investigations such as these are important because the expose corruption. However, we should not miss the real motives behind these sensationalist witch hunts.
So, at a political party activity – as opposed to say, a formally organised press conference like the one he called on the eve of Christmas with David Curmi to his left and Prof. Joe Bannister to his right – prime minister Joseph Muscat told a congregation of party faithful and “zaghzagh” that “energy beneficiaries” (MaltaToday) who benefitted from tampered smart meters should come forward, reimburse the money which they saved, and pay a penalty without being taken to court.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/PM-urges-energy-beneficiaries-to-come-forward-20140216
In its poetic mood, MaltaToday even described this as “Muscat has offered an olive branch.” Well, at least it was not an “almint blossim.”
Two days later, the Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, who is responsible for Justice, tells a press conference (for a change), that: “Police ‘free’ to decide on criminal action.”
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140218/local/tampering.507342
Isn’t the prime minister’s “olive branch” effectively an invitation to the “energy beneficiaries” to incriminate themselves?
Can we call them by their proper name, please? Energy thieves.
There.
Bribers.
# ejja.
‘Prime Minister protects energy thieves.’
There.
Energy looters
It’s a Land of Opportunists.
Owen Bonnici yesterday said that what the electricity thieves did does not necessarily amount to a bribe. It’s a pity none of the journalists asked him the obvious question: what does it amount to?
If it’s not a bribe, then why is the government kicking up a fuss and why are the thieves going to be made to pay fines?
To misquote Shakespeare, ‘a rose by any other name is still a rose.’
This episode reminds me of when the Egyptian military deposed the democratically elected Mohammed Morsi and for political reasons, nobody wanted to admit that it was a coup d’etat. Whether Morsi was a good president or not is another matter. The violent removal of a democratically elected government is always a coup.
A coup is a coup is a coup. Likewise, a bribe is a bribe is a bribe. I challenge Owen Bonnici and Eddy Privitera to prove me wrong.
And PLEASE, can the press stop talking about ‘consumers’ and start talking about ‘thieves’? When someone holds up a bank, we talk about ‘bank robbers’ and not ‘bank customers’. When someone hijacks a plane, we talk about ‘hijackers’ not ‘passengers’. Malta’s refusal to call a spade a spade is exhausting.
“Social parasites.”
Electricity pirates. Furbani tad-dawl.
Like that lot in Mad Max. As Tina Turner said, “Goodbye, soljah.”
We are informed that the Justice Ministry does not consider paying a bribe to an employee to facilitate the theft from Enemalta as a criminal offence. So the element of complicity in crime has been temporarily, and for political propaganda purposes, removed from the books.
So, tell me again, what did George Farrugia do with Enemalta officers that landed him in all that trouble? Why did his lawyer Franco Debono advise him to take the immunity deal when supposedly, and according to Labour speak, he was in the clear.
Less than a year in which we have become such accomplished liars.
Joseph Muscat has been promising the electorate that he has a new way of doing politics. This is part of his vast political eternal plan. Please give him time (there’s more to come) and do not hinder the progress of his ‘muviment’. Ma’ tal-lejber jaqbillek.
I’ve just thought of a great slogan for the Nationalist Party for the next election: Xoghol, gustizzja, liberta’!
I’ve got a better one: Lura ghad-Demokrazija.
Spot on. Deja vu Malte
I’ve an even better one:
Din id-darba, gustizzja ta’ veru.
Perhaps the full implications of this scandal have not yet been understood. What is really scandalous is that those who corrupted the Enemalta officials will not be named.
These companies – many of them must be companies – are guilty of fraud, theft and corruption and should, at the very least, be blacklisted.
Before the elections, Joseph Muscat has solemnly promised that his government would never engage anyone or work with any company that had been blacklisted because of fraud or similar crimes.
We all know about Shiv Nair and the blacklisted Chinese company which bought part of Enemalta. That is an old story by now but Muscat has found a way to refresh it, as it were
We now have a number of companies who deserve to be blacklisted and excluded from government tenders. However, the Prime Minister has single-handedly decided that, not only will they not be blacklisted, but their names will not even be published.
They will therefore continue to submit tenders and work with the government and its agencies as if nothing had happened. Another broken promise.
Joseph Muscat is prosecuting Simon Busuttil in Parliament for stating that he interfered in the John Dalli case. With his decision not to prosecute those who corrupted Enemalta employees will prove Simon Busuttil right regarding John Dalli’s case.
“pay a penalty without being taken to court”
So the government/Enemalta is willing to accept a bribe to stop the police pressing charges – incredible.
There is an excellent article about Turkey in The Telegraph by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Turkey spoils emerging market story as politics go haywire
No country so rudely exposes the illusions behind the $8 trillion stampede into emerging markets more than Turkey.
In spite of coming to power in a democratic fashion and by a hndsome majority, Erdogan has made a hash of things, and is becoming increasingly repressive and dictatorial. Are we heading in the same direction?
[Daphne – When citing internet articles, please provide a link.]
Meta rajt programm dwar ir-rwol ta’ Malta fil-krizi fil-Libya, gietni nostalgija ghal meta kellna gvern serju u rispettat.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140220/opinion/Labour-s-embarrassment.507521
First Muscat wanted to hide names of those who buy Maltese passports, and then he was compelled to do a u-turn.
Now he wants to do the same and hide names of electricity thieves.
Pressure should continue to have him do a u-turn on this too although I seriously doubt that this will happen as I am sure that amongst the 1000 + thieves there are a lot of friends of friends of the PL who helped the party to get elected. Shame on them all including Muscat and the PL.
[Daphne – The reason that it won’t and should not happen (I will be the first to object) is that it is very wrong: shades of China’s Cultural Revolution. The names of private citizens suspected of committing crimes should NEVER be published by governments (not even by the police, still less the government). Publication should only be at formal arraignment in court. For a government to publish the names of real or suspected transgressors is a violation so great that I am surprised so many supposed democrats of the free world, commenting on this blog, are mentioning it as something desirable. You do realise that this is totalitarian behaviour, do you?]
With Labour, corruption issues are nothing but an opportunity to throw mud just before elections.
http://www.independent.com.mt/mobile/2014-02-20/news/six-week-deadline-for-users-of-tampered-smart-meters-to-regularise-position-4016734208/
The six week deadline ends by mid-April. They will first say that they (not the police) are analysing the ‘information’ received from the ‘small fish’. Then a couple of days before the election they will throw mud at the PN ‘big fish’ without giving enough time to convince otherwise before election day.
Every 5 years or so, and inevitably prior to election day, the electorate is subjected to these sagas.
And Labour, this time round, need a lot of mud ammunition to counter balance the fiascos during the past year.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?list=UU7GKlpZqYYxeeHk9b9h6kLA&v=rJPxsSxAdkA
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-02-26/news/government-trying-to-deflect-attention-away-from-electricity-bribery-scandal-pn-4072275968/
Worst of all is that Joseph Muscat is sending out the message to customers of government that corrupting public officials is acceptable behaviour. For most, people getting away with it equates with acceptable behaviour.
If PL were serious about stamping out corruption there would be no compromises. If a person is suspected of bribing a public official he should be investigated and, if there is sufficient evidence, he should be prosecuted before a court of law.
Anything less than that is a recipe for disaster.