From Mr J. Magro

When I decided to leave public life, I never thought that I could still make news. I had hoped that the media would have respected my decision to live as an ordinary citizen, like the other thousands in Malta and Gozo. In your report about who applied for the post of Head of the EU mission in Malta, you made the deliberate decision to headline the news item with my name and the position I held until November 2003.

This fact alone may infer two things:

that in your opinion I am inferior to the other applicants and therefore should have not applied at all; and/or

that since the MLP was in favour of a partnership and not membership with the EU, I have no right to be considered for the post.

My response to your implied analysis is as follows:

I do not feel inferior to the names mentioned for the post since the experience gained, being at the helm of a political party, by far surpasses any experience gained in any other position in Malta. There are very few people who really understand the responsibilities a Secretary General has to carry. I am proud to be one of the longest serving Secretary General in Malta without being contested for nearly 13 years. If political parties, like universities, had the charter to grant “Professorship”, I would have easily earned that title.

Your second implication is more serious since it dwells on the fundamental human rights of every person. Our Constitution, as well as the proposed EU Constitution, does not tolerate any discrimination, including political discrimination. The fact that you chose to use my name in your headlines implies that since I campaigned for partnership and not for membership, I should be excluded from the recruitment process. This is political discrimination that should be totally condemned by all and sundry. It is these headlines that continue to breed political hatred, or what other analysts call class hatred, in Malta. If you disagree with my arguments, what was the point of carrying my name in your headline? Am I not equal to the other names mentioned in your report? Why have I been specifically brought to the front-line when I have left public life and am now seeking to find suitable employment commensurate with my qualifications, experience, competencies and skills?

The price I am paying for serving my country in a public office for about 13 years is that I have come up against a thick wall of political hatred and political discrimination from public, private and civil societies.

Since November 2003 I must have applied for more than 150 advertised vacancies, which were all refused by the local entrepreneurial/managerial class.

I am, for example, totally disgusted to learn that the Financial Controller of the Foundation for Tomorrow Schools maintains the financial records on Microsoft Excel and not through an accounting package, and he is still in employment after all the fracas that has tainted our future educational system. I had applied for the post of Head of Administration of this organisation, and although I had sat for an interview months ago, I still have no written definite reply from this “professional” institution.

In another case, I had been placed number one (by a very well known professional recruitment agency as it is appointed by all public organisations) to be engaged as a Management Consultant with a public agency, but then the “top” echelons of political power held the recruitment process.

In another case, my recruitment as a Management Consultant with the Management Efficiency Unit is still awaiting the final verdict of the Prime Minister, following a positive decision by the Ombudsman.

And the list continues – but I would need eight more pages to give you the full list of shame of those who have barred my employment.

Let there be more feasts, petards, Masses and prayers as this is Christian Malta, where political discrimination is rife and officially propagated. Let us quote the American cliché and shout “In God We Trust”.

For those who believe in dispensing justice in this real life, I would be more than happy to discuss a career opening so that I can use all my energy in a productive capacity.

Jimmy Magro

ZEBBUG