Editorial • October 27 2003

A government, unmoving and unrepentant

There comes a time when one wonders whether this government is aware of all the rumblings going on in these small isles. One wonders whether there is a receptor system in place to gauge public opinion and media concerns. It is not only because of stories that appear in this newspaper, but also because of an expansive lethargy that continues to rule within the whole government apparatus.
The latest scandal, the one of Tomorrow’s schools, lands squarely in Louis Galea’s court. The scandal is one that he will try very tactfully to brush aside and try to give the impression he did not consciously know what was going on. But the choice of people at FTS was his. The political responsibility is his.
In this scandal we note how direct orders were issued to individuals and companies against the established policy.
MaltaToday was not the one to discover the complete mess at FTS; it was first emphasised by the Opposition which was repulsed by the boring accusation that the allegations were nothing but a case of mud slinging.
This is not the first time that Dr Louis Galea has got himself into a fix. And yet, he is still around. Displaying a confidence that is quite incomprehensible.
To those who cannot possibly remember, the Minister of Education, who at one time served as a part time farmer, and who constructed a farmhouse on pristine land at Fawwara was also politically embarrassed by a very complicated and convoluted history that takes us back to a spree of direct orders with the Auxiliary Workers Training scheme.
The scheme was a shining example for promoting favouritism to men who had more than simple close links with the Minister in question. Needless to say the accounting system at the AWTS left much to be desired, with limited accountability and accounting to explain the criteria for deciding and issuing lucrative direct orders. The Minister’s personal chauffeur, for example, would rake thousands of pounds a year for the leasing out of a refuse truck.
Of the people who benefited from this strange AWTS scheme was a certain Mario Callus, a man who now reappears in the FTS as a central figure. Mr Callus, apart from being a Louis Galea acolyte, is also a leading Nationalist activist and in the AWTS scheme discovered his entrepreneurial devotion by also leasing out a dumper to government at a handsome price.
The FTS scandal may appear as an isolated example; but it is not, unfortunately it illustrates what is happening within the government. The same delirious mis-management is taking place elsewhere.
We have little doubt that the FTS revelations will not shake the government. In the past we have seen a government with little interest in rocking the boat when faced with far more serious accusations.
This reaffirms our belief that government needs to be more accountable and transparent. And sensitive to public and media opinion.