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Just when we thought we could run around freely with our mistress (and lovers), the government unveils its Orwellian plan. Cameras will film our very movement.
We are eternally screwed.
Austin G has come up with the idea of placing CCTVs at the doors of Valletta. He will be taking mugshots of us entering the capital and of us leaving. Then he will be sending us a bill. Worse still, there will be photographic evidence of our escapades. Malta is getting smaller than it ever was.
Now those who do not know should know that
Austin G is a Valletta resident who believes that the way forward in controlling traffic in Valletta is to video people entering and departing from its fortified walls.
It will be a bumper time for the company that has made a fortune with the wardens’ system. I am sure all the directors of this company are paid-up members of the Malta Labour party.
No, it is only a joke. Austin G hasn’t only become the prime liability for the Gonzi government, he has become a Mintoffian. And like all good Mintoffians he aims to control. If this was not enough of a headache, Minister George Pullicino presents us with a park and ride scheme… he is probably saying to himself ‘is this Saviour an environmentalist or what?’
No, I am a columnist sick and tired of seeing my country being run like a communist state. Our way of life is being controlled by politicians who are basing most of their philosophy on Dom’s way of doing things. Who said Malta is a relaxed kind of place should be gagged.
Every week we are fed ill-thought and foolish plans. But then this is an irrational government. Last week it was confirmed that the government legislated to allow VAT offenders to have their homes and properties mortgaged and for this to take preference over hypothecs offered to banks. The reaction to this from the constituted bodies was un bel zero. The Chamber of Commerce did say something on Friday but it reminded me of ‘dopey’ waking up after a long sleep.
And frankly I would have expected the GRTU to wake up and declare a guerrilla war on this. It has not. The GRTU is starting to resemble my great grandmother, who had unfortunately lost all her teeth.
This is summer and the fun is just beginning.
Another public company is closing down, but not before we fork out thousands from our pockets.
The defunct printing press Interprint is being closed down. But it will cost the taxpayer a million liri. If Austin G is smiling, why are we not doing the same? All we are doing is paying for these people’s termination benefits, and people such as Salvu Sammut, the GWU president who is also an Interprint employee but who has been seconded to the GWU, will be Lm20,000 richer.
One might argue that the collective agreement commits government on such a terminal benefit. So bloody what? Such a pay-out says more about our politicians than the union. And guess what? Instead of an outcry from the general public, it is the union that is crying wolf.
This new GWU campaign has taken off a few weeks before the re-election of the GWU’s top brass. It is the taxpayer that should be stamping its feet. In this dark comedy of errors, I am earnestly waiting for Alfred Sant, Malta’s opposition leader, to wake up. If only he resembled Snow White, I would kiss him to upset his long snooze.
This week, the farmers at Ghajn Tuffieha woke up to be greeted by a presidential decree confirming that their agricultural lease was terminated. The President would be better off officiating a boy scout salute, but instead he signs a decree that announces that land off Ghajn Tuffieha is returning to government.
The size of the land in question is equivalent to 22 football pitches. And all this before government decides on the site for a golf course and MEPA gives the go-ahead!
What? Is the future golf course to be run by government? The only political system in the world that considered golf courses for a public purpose is the Sultanate of Brunei, where monarchs dressed like clowns take terrain to drive balls into holes.
Since when is a golf course a good enough reason for President Edward Fenech Adami to terminate a lease for public use? This must be part of George Pullicino’s way of doing things. Well, if there was sound enough proof that Pullicino does not understand what Europe is all about, the siting of a golf course on a prime natural habitat is a case in point. Unknown to Pullicino is the question of the Habitats Directive, which basically stops anyone from destroying and developing a garigue habitat. And ix-Xaghra l-Hamra is such a habitat. This is what Europe is all about.
It also says a lot about having a minister responsible for protecting the environment and driving projects such as golf. I have no doubt that the man who together with Tonio Fenech serves as the PM’s mentor would like to see his environmental record remain intact. To remain so, ix-Xaghra l-Hamra has to remain as it is.
I thought that summer would relieve us from the boredom of politics. But it is not going to be the case.
Jesmond Mugliett says that with the new road built at Targa Gap, the Bistra Catacombs have been saved. Bollocks. The road construction company assigned with this road uncovers Malta’s most unique Paleochristian catacombs and then rebuilds the road over these catacombs. And do you hear anyone screaming aloud?
Twenty years ago there was an outcry, today everyone is fast asleep. Where are the NGOs? Either Jesmond Mugliett has the sensitivity of a goldfish or else he does not know what the hell is happening around him.
The General Workers’ Union has declared its intention to organise a general strike. They argue that the government is obliged to a find a job for every man and woman that lose their work. At long last, Lawrence Gonzi is a lucky man.
Union trouble is always good news for a government with nothing to grumble about. The union cannot make any demand. There is no doubt that a strike will help government with its image problem. The last thing people want to hear is a union that backs more rights for overpaid workers who expect a job for life.
Taxpayers are sick and tired of paying more and more. Unions are not in danger of extinction – they are just synchronised for self-destruction.
Which brings me back to Austin G, the minister who drives his policies with the help of his rotweillers.
Last time I reserved all my salvos for Claudio Grech. Today my appreciation is dedicated to his first lieutenant, Manwel Delia, the man who writes all the press releases for Valletta’s resident minister.
The former student who protested against a Labour government when university stipends were cut is Austin’s alter ego. Significantly this self-important soldier knows that Austin Gatt is best placed to grow in his role. As minister of so many institutions and government entities it is clear that Austin can entertain some of the ‘demands’ of his constituents.
And in the absence of any noteworthy grey matter in the cabinet, Austin serves as the PM’s Robespierre. But like all Robespierres, Austin resembles a cruise missile minus the guidance system. Which brings me back to the Nationalists inability to talk to the press.
Tony Abela, the notary, will not answer questions by MaltaToday. Which is just as well. If he does, it will take all his mind off his busy private schedule. The good old notary who more often than not is busy with his private notarial contracts was thoughtless enough to hit out at MaltaToday instead of the officers at the Armed Forces who have not learnt how to use Outlook Express.
And he has taken upon himself to scribble his thoughts in Malta’s increasingly unpopular daily – his most notable contribution is his apparent concern for the plight of irregular immigrants, a concern that would have led any decent newspaper analysts to take the notary’s political career to shreds.
But Notary Abela is a harmless character. After all he needs to be taken more seriously by the Prime Minister. Indeed the criticism in the column will have an inverse effect and go a long way to extend Notary Abela’s ministerial half-life with the Prime Minister,
Further confirmation that this is a Mintoffian government surfaces when you listen to what small businesses have to say. Speaking to a restaurant owner in Valletta, I was explained how he was obliged to pay Lm4,000 for a parking scheme because he employed up to six to seven people. The money goes straight to MEPA, one the most expensive institutions to run within government. Take a look at the salaries, perks, mobiles, cars and travel allowances of this monster and you will all agree that something needs to be done to curb the excesses of this ogre organisation.
Malta’s state TV will be having a new head of news.
The criteria for the job are as follows: an A in elocution, eloquence in the use of the Maltese language, ability to tell the difference between a pastizz tal-haxu and a sfinga, appreciates Alfred Sant more than sailing, has the intellectual incisiveness of a caterpillar, and has worked for Malta’s greatest newspaper.
Voilà, TVM’s head of news could possibly be the one and only… say it, say it – Vanessa Macdonald.
Hats off to the police for controlling the excesses of an unruly drinking hole at Naxxar.
saviourbalzan@newsworksltd.com
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