Opinion • October 12 2003

Of politicians, civil servants and the right to know

Julian Manduca reminds those elected and civil servants that their duty is to serve

I am not that old, but old enough to remember that Maltese society was different even some mere thirty years ago.
When I was young it was clear to me that there was a clear distinction between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots.’ The politicians, professionals, priests and rich business people not only had more money than all the rest but also wielded far more power, and not merely because of their better contacts and access to information. The poor had less money, did not move in the same circles and could safely be ignored if they asked questions that made the rich and powerful feel uncomfortable. In a democracy we are supposedly all equal, but don’t shout that out too loudly because some people might accuse you of stepping out of line.
Malta is preparing, not very well it must be said, to join the EU and that commitment will mean new and greater responsibilities for all of us. The EU is a different place to Malta, attitudes are different and we had better start getting used to it.
I recently saw US former weapons inspector Scott Ritter taking Blair and Bush to task on BBC World’s fascinating Hard Talk.
Scott did not mince his words, "Bush and Blair are our employees and they are here to carry out our wishes as our elected representatives."
In the EU there is a movement known as ‘the right to know,’ and certain rights are enshrined in international conventions. The Aarhus Convention, for example, guarantees the rights of the public to information about the environment. Public officials are duty bound to reply to questions about the environment as soon as possible and not later than within one month, according to certain provisos.
In Malta getting information out of some ministries and government departments is like trying to squeeze liquid out of wood.
The ministry of finance remains reluctant to say how much income and company tax is long overdue, it refuses to spit out whether it is true that many people were recently sent tax bills pertaining to the 90s. And it finds problems in stating what the average declared income is of the different professions. And what are the highest amounts owned to it on income and company tax.
The Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools, refuse to tell us which companies were awarded direct orders during the period between January 2002 and April 2003. The ministry of health and the director of contracts refused for weeks on end to answer questions about the replacement of the malfunctioning incinerator at St Luke’s. Still the director of contracts avoids questions on the matter.
For democracy to function properly people need to have access to information. The people elected into office and those employed by government are their at the public’s bidding. We pay for their wages and they are duty bound to provide the public with information that concerns it. There may be some instances where it would make sense not to inform the public, but these would involve matters of public security, or threats to the state, including information that could threaten a countries economic situation. The average declared income of doctors does not threaten this country’s security, neither do the names of the companies awarded direct orders by the FTS. The public has the sacrosanct right to be informed, and it is the duty of all public officials to keep its public informed.
julian@maltamag.com