Conflicts in Libya

 

For the past months, conflicts in Libya have headlined foreign media reports, after Islamist groups took over control of Tripoli’s main airport after a month-long battle.

The issue also provided for some controversy in Malta, especially where Maltese citizens became concerned. The opposition put forward a motion to immediately discuss the situation in parliament, arguing that the government was not being transparent enough on its plans to help Maltese citizens in Libya. At the time, the government insisted that the situation was not as urgent as being portrayed by local media and said there was no urgency for evacuation procedures.

However the situation quickly took a turn for the worse following reports of a Maltese worker who was kidnapped by Libyan militias.

Martin Galea, a former AFM captain, was abducted outside Tripoli on 17 of August. He was released 11 days later, however the whole story of his kidnapping was only made public after he gave an exclusive interview to The Malta Independent. The interview revealed the trauma he went through as he escaped bullets by mere inches and as kidnappers beat him up.

However the whole affair was convoluted with civil service head Mario Cutajar claiming it was not a case of ‘abduction’, adding, that the term was only coined by the media. Following the published TMI interview however, the same Mr Cutajar confirmed it was indeed a case of abduction.

As the situation in Libya worsened, the government organised a number of commercial flights allowing a number of Maltese citizens to escape the strife and head home. The Crisis Centre in Valletta came into play, and the Ministry started contacting all Maltese citizens residing in Libya.

Many locals arriving back in Malta admitted they were contacted and assisted by the government. One oil worker however complained to the press that he had been calling for help from the government for three weeks, however he received no reply. The worker was working in the desert some 100km south of Brega. He explained to the press how three cars were hijacked from him and his colleagues.

Eventually evacuation pleas were made and the HMS enterprise carried the first 110 British Nationals from Tripoli to Malta. On the 15th of August, Malta handled close to 1,100 workers evacuated from Libya, 800 of which were Filipino and 302 Indian and Korean Nationals.

Just last week, Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella said that Libya could turn into another Iraq if the rival militias are not disarmed.

The infamous 13,000 a month pay check

Heated discussions regarding Konrad’s Mizzi’s wife salary package have continued since the day of her appointment. The PN hit out on the government for going against its meritocracy pledge and appointing a minister’s wife as an envoy for Malta in China. The PN’s media insisted that Sai Mizzi was being paid €13,000 a month and constantly questioned the Prime Minister on her role and salary package and what concrete results she had obtained for Malta. Questions went ignored until Sai Mizzi herself spoke up to journalists insisting that she “only” earns just over €3,000 a month.

Following continuous pressure, the Prime Minister tabled Sai Mizzi’s pay slip in parliament – however documents raised more questions than provided answers. The document revealed that Sai Mizzi received a high end ambassadors’ package, when she is not indeed an ambassador. The opposition pointed out that besides her salary package, Mrs Mizzi is also being provided with a fully paid residence, her own chauffeur, schooling for her children, estimated at €51,000 over three years and other perks.

In comments to this newspaper, former ambassadors agreed that although perks are part of ambassadors’ packages, Sai Mizzi benefits from a high-end ambassadors package. In addition, it was exposed that Mrs Mizzi earns more than her predecessor.

Agreements with China

Late last year the government announced that a Chinese company investing in Malta’s electrical centre will help stabilise Enemalta.

In March of this year, the Maltese government signed an agreement with Shanghai Electrics (SEP), making it a stakeholder in Enemalta, having 33% of shareholding. SEP will invest €320million in Enemalta - €100million of which will be direct capital and the rest will serve as an investment in the BWSC plant to cover the cost of its conversion to gas. The investment will help reduce Enemalta’s debts. The agreement is to cover three main projects – the €320 million investment, a renewable energy project aiming at tapping the EU market, and the setting up of an energy service centre which will service SEP’s power plants in Europe and Asia, with the work being carried out by Enemalta employees.

Controversies rose, questioning how such an investment will bring changes for Enemalta employees, however Prime Minister Joseph Muscat insisted that Enemalta employees will not lose their jobs, salaries or work conditions.

In July, Malta and China signed a five-year memorandum of understanding on co-operation which is aimed at boosting Chinese investment. This was the first formal medium-term cooperation plan that China signed with a European country. Both countries are to set to work together on research and development in green and low carbon energy, development of renewable energy resources and production of energy saving equipment.

Last year, the Maltese government appointed a Chinese company to carry out a feasibility study on the building of a MaltaGozo bridge. However, media reports then revealed that the company appointed, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) had been blacklisted by the World Bank in 2011 for practises in the Philippines.

In Parliament, the Opposition questioned the government on why it had chosen such a company to carry out the study. To this, Dr Muscat denied any violations of EU rules and recalled that a previous administration had also chosen to work with a black listed company.

Another blacklisting controversy broke out earlier in the year, when it was revealed that Shiv Nair, the Indian business consultant who travelled to Qatar with Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi was also blacklisted by the World Bank. Replying to questions by the press, Dr Muscat said he had no clue that Shiv Nair was blacklisted.

Commonwealth

In July, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat visited the United Kingdom for the Commonwealth Business Conference. In order to encourage a more fruitful multilateral approach at Commonwealth events, Dr Muscat said he believes that governments should, even with Commonwealth Secretariats sustained support, spend more time fostering bilateral relations during the two year period between one Heads of Government meeting and another, and not schedule such meetings almost exclusively during these summits.

During the conference, attendees questioned the benefits of being a commonwealth member. Dr Muscat said that Malta is not intending to quit being a member however the government is willing to put forward ideas to change certain Commonwealth procedures. Dr Muscat argued that meetings in the past were hindered by excessive diplomacy, citing the Communiques as an example.

The UK relies heavily on the slow growing advanced economies of Europe which is a staggering 25% below a continuation of its pre-crisis trend, rather than major growing economies in the Commonwealth which only account for a tenth of UK exports. In order to invest further in Commonwealth countries, the UK would need to diversify its investment strategy, he argued.