Last Monday, more or less at the same time that Malta was alight with the news that a Court of Appeal had confirmed an original judgment which had annulled the three hospitals deal and ordered their return to the public, the Tourism Minister had a light bulb on his mind.

In a post on Facebook – some things need to be seen, to be believed – Clayton Bartolo proudly announced that a light bulb had been installed in the area known as Tal-Veccja, in St Paul’s Bay, to help fishermen in the area.

There’s a photo of the light bulb too, just in case we do not know what it looks like. And, wonder of wonders, it’s switched on too. By any chance, was a plaque unveiled too?

It may be important to note that St Paul’s Bay falls within the electoral district that the minister contests, which is why it is probably significant to him that such an earth-shattering installation has finally been done. Even a light bulb could mean votes.

The light installation was needed, he dramatically explained, because the laments of the fishermen have been falling on deaf ears for a long time, with “previous administrations” that gave little thought to what was needed. We will keep on working, he further illuminated, with more initiatives and necessary interventions in “all corners”.

“Previous administrations”? Does the minister not realise that the Nationalist Party was ousted from power 10 years ago? Does the minister not realise that his own Labour Party has been in government for more than a decade?

Even if, for argument’s sake, the PN in government ignored the plight of St Paul’s Bay fishermen until it left office in March 2013, the minister is admitting that it has taken 10 years and seven months for his own Labour government to install a light bulb.

The mind boggles as to why the minister felt the need to boast so much about the light bulb. Shall we just say that “little things please little minds”?

It would be more appreciated if the minister had to be more forthcoming on the secretive Malta Film Commission for which he is responsible.

The commission has been resisting for years to tell us how it is spending its money, and why its events cost so much. It has gone as far as taking legal action to keep a lid on how much an entertainer was paid for his presence at the Malta Film Awards.

The commission is also refusing to publish a report which, it says, shows that for every €1 spent by the government on the film industry, the Maltese economy is pocketing €3. We were not even told how much the report cost to be drawn up.

So, dear Clayton, we tell you (tongue-in-cheek) “prosit ministru” for the installation of the light bulb in St Paul’s Bay, even though it took your government 10 years to do it.

But let’s get on to the more serious things.