Malta Political Accountability

It is getting rather sickening, seeing PN and PL fighting each other to death like a pair of gladiators in a Political Coliseum. I have seen the PN Political spot on TV, which practically says that the PL are working against the interest of Malta and the Maltese. I will never believe that ever, and people with some gray matter for brains can never believe that the PL and PN are actively seeking against Malta and the Maltese. I rather believe that both the PN and PL don’t like to take long term views and actions beyond their five year term in office, which means that their priorities for Malta and the Maltese is somewhere down the line in their priority list. Their first priority is getting or retaining power at all costs. Second on their list is definitely to please those that matter (EU, NGO’s, Financial Party Supporters, and The Media).Thirdly what personal financial gain they are going to get from Politics, then maybe it’s Malta and the Maltese.

What irks me most in Maltese Politics is the lack of accountability of retaining the status quo, in other words limiting our representation to PL or the PN. Let’s face it, everybody seems to know that a few months before any election (General, Local Counsel and MEP), they both start to listen to the public, not to address them, just to address their election campaign accordingly. Everybody also knows that mostly it is based on lies, deceit, or omitting anything of relevance. It is also almost predictable that if the electorate wants to arrive at some sort of true picture of PL and PN intentions, the direct opposite of what they say is almost spot on of what will actually happen.

Accountability is so frustrating, that it begs the question of how truly democratic Malta is. I had visited the website transparency.org (see report 2008) to see how Malta ranks on the corruption perception index for 2008 and was worried for the fact that we rank as number 36 with two other Countries Botswana and Puerto Rico with an index of 5.8 (10 being non corrupt and 0 being corrupt).What is even more worrying is the fact that in 2007 we ranked at number 33 albeit still 5.8 on the scale index (report 2007) . Then I started thinking and realized how rampant our Political system is in corruption. First let us take the last general election, everybody knows that Enemalta belongs to the Maltese Government, He is also the appointee of its directors, everybody also knows that the bills in that election year where delayed by months. Everybody also knows that just after the election all electric bills started coming out of enemalta like hot cakes with hefty bills. I would classify that as corruption to the tune of buying votes by not issuing the bills at their appropriate time for political gain, throwing a lot of the public under financial stress for the sake of PN’s political gain. Same when the PN says that Malta gained a lot financially from the EU in the tune of over a billion Euros. Where the hell did they spend them? Roads – definitely NO as they are in a worse state as when the British left, they might say the Airport to Ghajn Tuffieha road – er NO that was done under the Italian Protocol agreement, where the new Mater Dei Hospital – NO that was under our own budget, the Airport- NO, Power Station-NO, the half baked Cirkewwa sea terminal-NO, where the hell did they go? Can anybody please enlighten me as to the Billion+ euros whereabouts? All I know is that political party’s finances (both PL and PN) are well hidden from the public scrutiny, to such an extent that now there is the VAT department being investigated of fraud by some of its employees that made off with what is described as millions that were lost in public revenue, with businesses and businessmen helping in the police investigation. Accountability – None. Same goes for NGO and Charity groups, I could not find one that has an audited published account that I could see on their websites. One has one for 2007 but when you look into it there is hardly anything that gets it anywhere near that can be classified as a financial audited report – some of them are getting public grants and exempted from taxation- So should I as a tax payer expect at least as a minimum, an audited published account as to how these groups that benefitted from these grants, donations and tax relief initiatives have spent these benefits, a real break down on how money was spent and from were it was received- that will never happen in Malta. Corruption comes under many different shades and definitions, including not legislating in favor of a whistle blowers act that protects person/s reporting abuse, it also means taking immediate action when the ombudsman clearly stipulates an abuse has been committed, it also means that when the EU sends a reasoned opinion and threaten to take Malta to ECJ (European Court of Justice) the Government does not wait till 11th hour to take action just for the sake of financial gain like in cases of departure tax and car vat registration and others.

PL has nothing to be proud of either as people had asked for change in their leadership years ago, but the corrupt elements that held the PL hostage for personal gain is a well known fact. The cost was that there was no political alternative to PN to the detriment of Malta’s democracy. The PN’s cunningness to betray the voters at all cost at the last general election is manifested with the JPO case. They have both betrayed the public by not allowing Political competition, they manipulate the media, they both have their deceitful propaganda machine that excludes other political views from making headway, they have secret agreements between PN and PL as was the case on illegal immigration and was recently declared by the PN as gloves are off now that PL has abandoned the agreement. The ‘Independent’ Malta Broadcasting Authority is made up of PL and PN agreed officials, ex-members of parliament that where voted out by the electorate is rewarded by either high profile positions and given a golden handshake from taxpayers money (no different from rewarding failed banks CEO’s in Europe and America). Superficial restructuring like what happened in the transport system, where liberalizing for competition means hefty tariffs on those entering the market to protect the status quo. And much more, it is a political circus more than a free market economy based on democracy. One day we will learn that it is for the common good of our Country and to the Maltese benefit to ‘liberalize’ the political system as the power will only then be handed down to the people and hold those employed by the taxpayer to account.