Last Sunday, 6 September, the Department of Information published a photo and press release informing us (the general public) that the Prime Minister had a meeting at Castille, in his office, with the president of the oil company Socar, Rovnag Abdullayev, who also happens to be the president of the Azerbajan Football Association.
I found this piece of information to be very interesting indeed. So, the president of an oil company and a football association is greeted “casually” (according to the photo no ties were worn by any of those present) in the prime minister’s office. Once again, no government officials appear in the photo except the PM’s Chief of Staff. There were no oil experts or football experts present. Nobody from Enemalta or from the Malta Football association was present either.
The Prime Minister looks cool and relaxed. You’d think these guys have met before and are on a first name basis. Muscat looks like he is selling (or buying) something from a “friend” and the deal is basically done. They probably cracked open a bottle of whiskey to celebrate once the camera was switched off.
The DOI press release states that the gentlemen present discussed matters related to the energy sector, particularly the role of Socar in Electrogas. It also states that the Minister (Konrad Mizzi) was present for the meeting but strangely enough he is not in the picture either.
The Prime Minister finds it very normal to have this meeting and issue a press release through the Department of Information. He tries to make us believe that, since he uses methods that mimic transparency, he is therefore transparent, and we should all be happy and continue minding our own business.
Prime Minister, transparency and good governance do not come from issuing press photos and statements to the media. ITAR-TASS and AZERTAC also disseminate news on behalf of states, Russia and Azerbaijan, which lack transparency, where corruption is rife and where liberty of expression leaves much to be desired.
DOI staff should be very careful. The role they play is very delicate and they should not forget that their loyalty is to our country, as a nation, and not to a party or the leaders who happen to be running it.
Oncology
The new Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre, at Mater Dei Hospital, has just opened but it was planned in detail under the last PN government. It is monument to the PN’s vision for health.
The vision is not merely in the building itself and the proximity to the Mater Dei Hospital, which makes for more efficient health and treatment pathways. The National Cancer Plan 2011-2015 is also an essential part of this vision and the two projects go hand in hand.
This week we learned that the centre is finally operating in full swing (with presumably some minor exceptions). This is great news because to date, despite the many PQs, never adequately answered, there were no explanations in relation to the constant delays on the project itself, particularly on issues related to the decommissioning of the equipment.
Last February, while commemorating World Cancer Day in the presence of the President, I pointed out that we are all looking forward to the second volume of the Cancer Plan and Dr Chris Fearne promised me that work is underway and that we will soon be seeing the fruit of the hard work involved in producing such an essential document.
Health is definitely about outcomes but it is also, fundamentally, about vision. The PN government was far from perfect but when it came to health it had a very clear vision and all the professionals involved knew where they stood.
Today, that assurance is unfortunately not felt. The management-by-crisis feeling is very strong and does not augur well for all the very hard working professionals who invest their time and efforts towards a better quality of life for the patients and their families.