News • 25 May 2003

Hyzler shoots down Saliba’s proof of Labour saboteur in civil service

Matthew Vella

Joe Saliba has had his conspiracy theory shot down by former Parliamentary Secretary for Economic Services George Hyzler, who denied the PN secretary-general’s claims that one such instance of Labourite sabotage emerged from within his secretariat, days before the general elections.

Saliba’s gung-ho ‘seven-point plan’ on the future of the PN has courted outrage from Labour after prioritising the "disbanding of Labourite networks putting spokes in the wheels for Government," during last week’s PN general council meeting.

Whilst Labour have accused him of threatening the civil service, Saliba’s ‘clampdown’ on Labour saboteurs has already met one voice of disagreement, that of former Parliamentary Secretary George Hyzler.

Saliba’s gall

Earlier this week, Saliba claimed on PBS’s Bondi+ that proof of his suspicions could be found in a letter sent by the Consumer and Competition Division to shopkeepers a week before the general elections.

The letter, signed by Godwin Mangion for the division’s director-general, was sent in the days preceding the 12 April general election as a reminder to shopkeepers to have prices on goods visibly displayed. The letter continued that failure to comply with the law would result in fines of between Lm50 and Lm500.

Sources told MaltaToday Mangion filed an internal report with the Ministry for Finance and Economic Services about Saliba’s claims.

George Hyzler, Parliamentary Secretary for Economic Services at the time the letter was sent, has denied Saliba’s claims of any form of obscure plotting by the civil service in his regard:

"I don’t agree. The letter wasn’t sent with any intention of damaging my electoral chances. Godwin Mangion was doing his job and this was a simple, routine letter to keep shopkeepers updated on the law instead of fining them."

Hyzler said neither he nor the director-general were consulted on the letter since it was a normal, routine circular:

"People may not agree that such a letter be sent during such a sensitive time. But we have a culture that discourages such actions to take place during the electoral period. Had I known beforehand, things could have been different. But I don’t understand why certain things have to either temporarily stop or else be finished totally in the week before the elections."

A week after George Hyzler failed to get elected in the April 2003 general elections, he confirmed with MaltaToday that the circular had not been a deliberate attempt at short-circuiting his re-election campaign:

"There is no need for all this paranoia", Hyzler told this newspaper, emphasising that Godwin Mangion "was doing his job."

Magro reacts

MLP Secretary-General Jimmy Magro is not happy about Saliba’s accusations. He told MaltaToday Labour’s experience in government was also characterised by ‘spokes in the wheels’:

"This letter is no proof of any Labourite network. When Labour was in government between 1996 and 1998 Nationalist heads of department were always putting the spokes in our wheels too, by refusing to promote civil servants on grounds of their political allegiances."

Magro told MaltaToday that many civil servants were put at the disposition of Government in the days leading up to the referendum and electoral campaign:

"No one has a word to say about them," he said, "because they had been put at their service during their electoral campaign."

Magro continued: "Doesn’t Saliba know the Prime Minister used the army to have the Malta-EU accession treaty delivered in the days before the referendum? Doesn’t he know the MIC was still functioning during the electoral campaign? And what about the parties organised by ministers’ canvassers, within the ministries themselves? I suppose that was all right for him."

matthew@maltamag.com