The revelations made in the tape recordings of the discussions that went on in the Ministry responsible for public transport some years ago, say a lot about the mismanagement of the country under this Nationalist administration. The Labour Party made these tapes public not because it alleges any corrupt practices by the minister concerned, but because it shows how some of our ministries are being run.
The “strictly confidential” candid revelations one hears in these taped conversations confirm how in the corridors of power of our ministries, even government ministers are utterly frustrated by the way public officials are behaving. Some of these intellectual midgets seem to forget that they are being paid with the hard-earned taxes of our families and, despite their political pedigree, have no right to play god in the little fiefdoms they administer.
It is sad that the independent media has generally ignored the significance of what the recorded conversations reveal about the way our country is being governed. If these conversations were made in the context of the business of a well-governed corporate entity, heads would have rolled even before the contents of such conversations became public.
Maltese families have been asked to bear the burden of economic restructuring for many years in order to improve the competitiveness of our country. Some have lost their jobs, others have had their conditions of work changed drastically, and many more others have had to cope with a much higher burden of taxation to bring the public finances into some sort or order.
And yet we now know that there is quite a sizeable privileged class of protected people who feel that they can still milk the public purse, simply because their party loyalties gives them access to the dark rooms where the levers of power are moved. No wonder many former supporters of the Nationalist government feel that the Gonzi administration has betrayed their trust and are looking elsewhere to secure a better political future for their families.
The politics of sleaze is evident in most aspects of our lives. While most people feel short-changed by this government in the provision of basic services, not least free medical services, some ministers have given up trying to guarantee our citizens that the money they pay in taxes is in fact being spent well.
Those in a position of trust are not held accountable for their behaviour and rely on their political connections to be shielded from the justifiable public anger at the way they wield their authority. Our families deserve better.
The government may prefer to sweep this rubbish under the carpet because it has more than enough problems to deal with at the moment. I just remind you of the serious accusations we have made regarding the land in Qawra, which should belong to the Maltese people, that is still held by Maltcom, and how a former president of the Nationalist Party is alleging serious irregularities in the funding of the new Mater Dei Hospital.
But as we were so often told in the eighties by the current President of the Republic, in the end truth will prevail. And the truth is that this government has been in power far too long for its own good and, more importantly, for the country’s good. That is why the coming election will be crucial for the strengthening of democracy in our country.
A new Labour government will ensure that the strictly private conversations of the kind, which we know are heard very often today in the corridors of power, become a thing of the past because we will not allow anyone to betray the trust given to him by the public he undertakes to serve.
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Dr Mangion is deputy leader of the Opposition.