Regulatory agencies have come to assume an important role in the running of free market economies as they developed durng the last thirty years. Such agencies were expected to operate independently of government and private interests, while ensuring the respect of free market rules by all concerned so that those who succeed are truly efficient and end up providing competitive products and services.
The government’s role in a command economy has been almost totally set aside.
However for regulatory agencies to do their job properly, they need to have the power to administer sanctions on those who in one way or another are infringing market rules. In many cases, it was discovered that for sanctions to be effective, they need to be quite hefty. And here the objection that came to be raised was that sanctions had best be left for courts to decide rather than para-governmental agencies.
The problem has not arisen only in Malta, but practically everywhere. It would make sense to consult how other countries have dealt with it.
An irony in our case though is that the PN – which was responsible for the dismantlement of the “command” economy and for its replacement by a market model – is the body which is finding it most difficut to accept that regulatory agencies need the power to sanction if they are to carry out their duties effectively.
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HOW STRANGE
Dr Joe Brincat provided a rigorous analysis of the flaws in the set-up and modus operandi of the public enquiry into the murder of Mrs Caruana Galizia. The only significant comment about it was made by former PM Joseph Muscat.
As I see it, there is no doubt that the factual review presented by Dr Brincat is greatly valid, especially with regard to ex-Chief Justice Said Pullicino. I wonder though why it failed to stimulate the interest and curiosity of the so-called independent media, which usually follow all the intricacies arising from Mrs Caruana Galizia’s murder.
Is it possible that in a journalistic context, where even the phone calls made by a minister to secure jobs for constituents is considered to be a “major” story (as if it was happening for the first time), it made sense to sideline Brincat’s perspective about the goings-on of the public enquiry? ... just like that!
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STREET MISMANAGEMENT
A general negligence in how our streets are managed is still endemic. Pavements remain uneven or dug up. Street repairs are badly done. Channels supposedly in place for the release of water outflows are blocked. Equipment used during trenching works is left on pavements for weeks on end. Deficiencies in street maintenance and cleaning prevail.
As always happens in our country, when one tries to understand why this happens, one finds that nobody is responsible for “everything” – all just have their part of the job to do, as have all the others. So, as the Maltese saying goes, the ass can just blame its tail for what goes on.
This model for how things get done is unfortunately not the monopoly of one administration. Somehow, all have allowed it to develop.
Nor is it restricted merely to street management. The model applies across practically all sectors – from financial services to environmental protection to public health services. It is one of the reasons why FATF greylisted Malta.