Without knowing its full implications, I had set the ball rolling in 2003 when I had asked Foreign Minister Joe Borg to investigate alleged malpractices at the Voice of the Mediterranean. The report prepared by his permanent secretary and former private secretary was almost apologetic in its tone and conclusions. To my mind it smacked of a whitewash operation.

This spurred me on to call on the auditor general to probe the running of the station; a proposal which the Public Accounts Committee took on board in January 2004.

What emerged very clearly from the auditor general's findings was that internal control systems were lacking or ineffective. The claim by the managing director that he was not bound by Government Procurement and Financial Regulations failed to ensure a transparent and cost effective management of the radio station.

In the post-closure period of the station, no procedure for the proper winding-up of the radio station was put in place and no administrator was appointed to administer the VOM's assets.

Direct orders were the “order” of the day with management awarding major contracts related to the expansion and refurbishment of the radio station by direct order. Excessive amounts were expensed on furniture and fittings, wiring of studios, internet-related equipment and security and fire detection system.

A contractor engaged to provide an internet radio service was given two consecutive contracts by direct order within the span of three years.

I do not know whether it was a mere coincidence that the managing director's son was employed with him during the interim period.

The entire running of the station represented a serious failure in the proper conduct of public business.

Although the station was run like a fiefdom, the auditor general's report makes it clear in para 6.1.7 c) that the managing director was appointed by the permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry.

The most offensive part of the report was that concerning ancillary events when in 2003 the radio station which was literally on the eve of its closure, spent some Lm18,000 on a Mediterranean sea journey with the aim of “promoting peace” of which some Lm8,000 were forked out for pyrotechnics in relation to the Mediterranean sea project called Project Odyssey.

The people concerned have much explaining to do!

MLP policy update process gains momentum

This week's extraordinary general conference of the Malta Labour Party will give further proof that the MLP policy update process has picked up a momentum all of its own.

By early next year we should have all major policy areas covered and in place, ready to form the backbone of our election manifesto when the general elections are called.

This apart, the MLP will be publishing a series of vision statements on the lines of the document which Helena Dalli prepared on the public sector.

As far as I am concerned I have already prepared our vision statements on Foreign Affairs concerning our relations with non-EU member states as well as a document on our ICT strategy.

This shows that rather than sitting on our laurels, all of the party's main spokespersons have been busy consulting interested parties and drawing up their proposals well ahead of the actual run up to the general elections.

The consultation process that was evident these past few days particularly regarding the health, education and industry sectors gave manifest proof of Labour's powers as “a listening party” while highlighting the fact that the Nationalist Government seems to have given up on even having a dialogue with these people.

The Roger Waters gig: an all-time high

Call it nostalgia if you want but the Roger Waters concert managed to draw a highly diverse audience ranging from rich industrialists to manual/factory workers, and students to business managers, lawyers, members of the judiciary, medical practitioners and even the unemployed together with a number of Karta Anzjan holders!

It was a far different crowd from that which gathered a few weeks earlier to attend the slick Sting performance.

Last week, going to the Luxol Grounds was almost a ritual for those who attended, as if they were embarking on the quest of the Holy Grail. Little did we know that less than 24 hours later the death of Syd Barrett, one of the co-founders of Pink Floyd was to be announced after the years of solitude, mental depression and acute diabetes that followed his serious drug problem.

In spite of his age, Waters was spot on, backed by one of the tightest of bands, that featured amongst others, former rock star Andy Fairweather Low and such back-up vocalists as PP Arnold who had made a name for herself with her golden hit The first cut is the deepest a couple of decades ago.

One could not but help detect Waters’ leftist and anti-war sentiments as expressed during three different items of the concert although he went out of his way to declare that they were strictly his personal views. These were complemented by mind-blowing visuals and back projections that also included a touch of psychedelia thrown in for good measure. Who would have imagined that he would have sung Leaving Beirut hours before it was attacked in retaliation for Hezbollah acts of kidnapping of Israelis.

The concert was indeed value for money, running for almost three hours.

Visually it was a real treat, backdrops, flamethrowers, pyrotechnics and all.

This might sound strange but although the Dark Side of the Moon segment was meant to be the highlight of the evening, it was so note-perfect that it was almost clinical with the consequence that I far preferred the far more improvised and looser first segment of the concert where the band performed to the best of its ability. But all in all there was never a dull moment during the concert.

As I commented elsewhere, this is indeed a hard act to follow for NnG Promotions. People now expect nothing but the best from them so let us hope that they will continue to aim high in future. The Stones, U2, Dylan and Eric Clapton are names that come to mind although I bet they are unaffordable, but then it might even make sense – if they are lucky and able to afford it – were they to get an American band. Let us keep our fingers crossed.

Farewell to Ambassador Ehud Gol

The more I disagreed with HE Ehud Gol, the Israeli Ambassador to Malta, the more I found him endearing in his robust approach, bluntness and honesty. In our meetings together, we found that we could have a healthy bilateral working relationship where different perspectives should not and did not get in the way of our mutual respect for each other.

I met him last in his capacity as ambassador over drinks last Thursday. I look forward to meeting him again in the near future in whatever capacity he may occupy.

If our ambassadors could be as strong, direct and forceful as he is, we would have a diplomatic corps to be proud of. No matter who might be in government.

e-mail : [email protected]

Leo Brincat is the Main Opposition Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and IT.