Out comes the begging-bowl again – no pride nor fear of strings attached

So the United Arab Emirates is going to pay for the mobile apps that will help the civil service interface with the public 24/7 (ahem). No pride, dignity or fear of strings that come attached to offers like these – l-aqwa li ħadna xi ħaġa b’xejn, ħi. The government can pay for its own mobile phone apps with ease – after all, l-ekonomija sejra tajjeb, kif jgħidulna, and they’re selling lots of passports – but the beg-bum-and-freeload instinct that drives Laburisti overwhelms their better judgement. Also, they want to have more money to spend on themselves.

So that’s why Mario Cutajar, the politically-appointed head of the civil service, went with them, as did the chief of the government’s information technology systems. We knew why Konrad Mizzi went – he’s part of JosephKonrad Business Ventures. But what is Leo Brincat, Minister for the Environment, doing there with them and sitting between JosephKonrad? Is he cover, or are they up to something else?