In the wake of recent accounts of "the chosen ones" gorging themselves at the trough of plenty, I thought maybe it's time to hear their side of the story.

I first contacted Mr Silvio Clodd-Darmanin, the recently appointed chairperson of the Malta Grand Opera Festival Committee. Some jealous persons have questioned in the media Mr Clodd-Darmanin's suitability for such an elevated post. So I put it to him that: How come he's landed such a prestigious role, with his apparent dearth of musical knowledge - or any knowledge for that matter.

He responded thus: "It's not true ta, that the ministru make it me this job ghax I been canvasser from him since snin hafna. He know how much I knowed(sic) from it the sinking(sic) 'operajxin' (sic) xihaga, since long time eh. Mind it is gellis (sic) peoples from the najxonalists that try make trouble for me. Ghax they gellis (sic... again) from how il-gvern is paid to me €30,000 a month to make it my new job... is it. Even he make it me a soldiers of steel ta."

So fair enough, Mr Clodd-Darmanin is obviously well qualified for his new, well-paid position... even if he is tone-deaf and the nearest he has ever been to an opera is when he passes the ruins of Teatru Rjal on the rare occasions that he bothers to turn up at the ministry to carry out his extremely onerous duties as... well I'm not sure what he does actually... and I'm not sure that he does either.

I then decided to contact former LP principal donor and ex councillor of the Zebbiegh local council. Mr Norbert Greed-Grima, who is currently the chairman of the Central Mediterranean Mega-Developers and 'Environmentalists' Association. I asked him whether he thought that Malta was indeed over-developed.

He replied: "Lissen! We got plenty lands here left to develop it. Malta is big ta, see I got my eyes on all that undeveloped spaces at Marsa Sports X'ijdulu... I could make plenty moneys... erm I mean blocks 'flets'... even I can make it the hotels and offices from there... u hafna minhom. So don't say me we don't got no lands here and is over develop... xihaga. It's not true. Lissen... Even there is plenty lands fejn Ghawdex... Qara all those lands we got bejn Ghajnsielem u Xewkija... where before they make it the heliport. From it I can build the brand new Lidil to serve it the peoples from Ghawdex... even there is plenty spaces to make even more the high rises, high ends blocks of 'flets'... even forsi the shoppings centre. U le, t'ghidli xejn. Malta u Ghawdex got too much the green spaces. Lissen... These idiots who say me they don't got enough spaces only want to make trouble for me and my friends... is it. So they take care ghax we is much more powerful than what they is... u daqsekk!"

So there you have it, straight from the developers' mouth. All is definitely not rotten in the state of Malta. In fact, as Mr Greed-Grima stated: If you are lucky enough to be either "a person of trust" or a mega-developer here in this sainted isle... you are laughing. So don't come over all protective of your miserable splats of greenish areas. Just trust in the government and all will be lovely.

And good luck with that.