A lot has been said in the printed media regarding the Voice of the Mediterranean radio station, and surely the matter has attracted some attention. Others, who proposed this item to the Public Accounts Committee, had the interest of pressing such an issue in a bid to embarrass the government, the people involved and the whole network.

I, being a government member of the Public Accounts Committee, had first hand evidence of what the various people who were called in said.

At first, it all seemed that there was a basis that such a situation be monitored. However, our first real stop were the legal advisors who, strangely but truly, agreed even though on opposite sides, that government rules and regulations do not govern and did not govern the radio station.

This being established, and the government exonerated, the first bubble burst right in the face of those who proposed the item. This was not the first bubble that burst in the face of great accusers, the Labour Party, as we all witnessed what had happened, not too long ago, on the Malta House in Brussels.

Then, what was portrayed as a scandal turned out to be a good investment opportunity, and bought at the right price, instead of renting out various premises scattered around the Belgian capital.

This time, people wanted to hit at Richard Muscat, our present Ambassador to Ireland, various government officials, and obviously wanted also to embarrass the government.

As the saga unfolded, and the Public Accounts Committee had to convene for long hours, mornings and evenings, with the last meeting lasting till 11pm, it became apparent that after years of investigation, the Auditor’s Office was ill-prepared.

All this trouble brewed up due to the fact that the money contribution from the Libyan government was not forthcoming and therefore a shortage of funds began to take effect.

The office of the auditor, who normally does very good reports, and guides the committee with proper information, seemed to lack stability on this one. It surprised everybody, and to me it seemed like it was rushed through possibly to meet a deadline.

Experts were roped in by the Auditor’s Office, in a hurried way, not by selection, but by coincidence, which, again it seemed, lacked tact and professional vision. Of course, these experts could know what they were talking about, but when contrasted with the real experts on the matter, then it was apparent that no argument could back the report.

Another point these days is the large student traffic witnessed this summer. This growing market has completely taken over the traditionally family tourist, who shy away from Malta. Our official statistics do not even have the correct number of students coming over.

This is because the National Statistics Office only takes in consideration students who come over to learn English. There are thousands of others who do not come over to learn English, hence the amount of hotels used in the June, July and August period.

Needed as they are, a small number are a nuisance to their own group, the hotel and neighbours. Hotels get in security to oversee their behaviour especially in the early hours of the night, money deposits are taken from students in an attempt to stamp out any possible outrageous acts.

Sometimes you find the odd one that overcomes all these blockages, only to show himself or herself off.

Cases that had sufficient proof were taken seriously by the organisers, and students have been asked to leave Malta. The majority of these students are behaved, although the sheer numbers and big movements do change our normal scenario.

They have become Malta’s bread and butter in the summer months, and the livelihood of thousands of employees. Excessive complaining against these students will end up with thousands being jobless.

Continual education and prevention are the order of the day, as some acts against local neighbours are unacceptable. As usual, our food plate has a “sweet and sour” sauce in it.

Robert Arrigo is a Nationalist MP