Pigs at the trough update: Water Services Corporation
The Malta Independent reports:
The government has provided answers to the questions raised in a story published in the Malta Independent on Sunday, which had enquired who had paid for a three day extension of the Water Services CEO in Singapore to watch the Grand Prix.
E-mail correspondence obtained by this publishing house showed that the Water Services Corporation was invited to attend the Singapore International Water Week Water Utilities Leaders Forum 2013 back in July. In reply to the invitation, the CEO’s PA stated that they “would also like to extend their stay to attend the Gran Prix”.
A few days later, a certain Tan See Jin from the SIWW asked for the names of the three officials so that he could “facilitate the registration process for this event”.
The three Maltese officials who attended the event were CEO Frederick Azzopardi, Chief Officer Robert Schembri and Manager Stefan Riolo.
Can you imagine that? They’re representing Malta’s state-owned water monopoly and when they receive an official invitation, they tell their hosts that they want to stay longer to watch the Grand Prix.
What hamalli.
The organisers of the forum were obviously aware that the Grand Prix was on immediately afterwards, and if they wished to include attendance as part of their hospitality programme, they would have done so.
But they didn’t succeed in bumming the tickets despite their attempts at doing so, because – if the government is to be believed (and that’s increasingly difficult), the Water Services officials paid for their own.
It is beyond ghastly manners to tell your hosts to throw in the Grand Prix as well – as a special favour, and with the typically hamallagni attitude that the other hundreds of conference participants needn’t get the same treatment because you’ve asked for it in secret and are being given it behind everyone else’s back as a special favour.
“Malta qatt ma rrifjutah qamh” – a nation dominated by hamalli bums out to get whatever they can and thinking they should be admired for it. Il-vera ma jifhmux sahta.
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http://www.independent.com.mt/mobile/2014-05-04/news/government-silent-on-ceo-singapore-gran-prix-spree-while-at-conference-4841701383/
Extending their stay for three days implies they were interested in getting the full weekend ticket, Friday’s testing, Saturday’s pole and the race.
More than certainly means access to the paddock and other VIP areas.
A ticket like that can cost over 5,000 Euros. Not to mention getting hold of one at very short notice.
http://tickets.formula1.com/en/4281-formula-one-paddock-club-tickets/
If I’m not mistaken state corporation employees had to submit a report when they attended conferences or forums abroad. I wonder if these Water Service Corporation employees submitted a report and included the visit to the Grand Prix.
Mhux ma jifhmux…..Ma jisthux.
It may well be that their primary interest in going to Singapore was the Grand Prix. Other things were secondary.
Jaqaw hasbu li d-dinja timxi bhal Malta?
A bunch of amateurs li qatt ma raw xejn.
“Issa li qeghdin hawn we majteswel nihdu xi haga hux?”
AF, it’s been like that since ’64 – it just got worse.
While this topic is being discussed, has anyone checked if Joseph Muscat, any of the Labour MPs or government officials happen to have official engagements in Brazil in June/July 2014?
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-05-05/news/water-services-officials-in-libel-suit-against-tmis-4861820928/
All they had to do is put pressure on the government to come clean and admit it did not pay for the extension of their stay.
And yet it seems that suing for libel is easier. I’m not sure if that reflects most badly on the WSC employees in question, the supposedly transparent and accountable government, or both in equal measure.