Malta does have its variety of novels, myths and fables. One can mention Wenzu u Rozi, Fra Mudest and Kuncett u Marinton amongst others. And of course there's Ġaħan u ħrejjef oħra. Lately a new selection of tales, although not yet published, have become quite known and popular with the Maltese. These are Robert Abela's fables.
Malta's prime minister has, for ages, been denying that there is sewage outflows in the Maltese waters. "Not even one" he stressed when asked by the media. This despite video and photographic evidence. Throughout summer, bays like San Gorg in Birzebbugia and Saint George's in St Julians were closed to swimming for weeks on end. Balluta Bay used by locals and tourists has been contaminated for months with excuses such as algae and shiftings sands. Finally the Superintendence of Public Health had to admit that the bays were contaminated by bacteria. And there was no doubt that the cause of the pollution was untreated sewage. Last month the European Court of Justice found that Malta is in breach of its European Union obligations over waste water discharges.
On another occasion speaking to journalists, because Robert Abela never answers to questions, he said that part of the problem of the repeated power outages was the ever growing number of electric vehicles (EV) on our roads and cruise liners berthed at the port which are now, thanks to 'unprecedented investment' (read funded by the EU), getting electricity through the introduction of shore-to-ship power facilities. A childish fib. According to a report published by the National Statistic Office, the number of EV in Malta is just 2.4% of all vehicles registered in Malta. This is a negligible percentage considering that the proportion of EVs in European Union member states stands at 23.6%. We also got to know that the shore-to-ship system, which according to the prime minister is using a massive amount of power generated at Delimara, up to now has supplied shore-to-ship electricity to just one cruise liner.
The first plans for the Hard Rock Hotel on the site of former ITS site in St George's Bay, were submitted in 2017 and drew a record of 4,500 objections. The land was handed over for €46 million by the Labour government, some €11 million short of the National Audit Office's evaluation. The massive project has been shot down by residents and various NGOs aware of the impact it will have on villages like Swieqi, Pembroke and St. Julians. The area is already beset with traffic problems, continuous flowing sewage both on land and in the bay and noise pollution from continuous construction.
Robert Abela assured everyone that all the concerns about the massive development had been addressed. It was just another lie. The project will see the quality of life of residents nose-dive. The government has yet to come up with its newest buzzword - Pajjiż ta' Kwalita.
But, beyond his empty words of attracting quality tourists to the area, Abela keeps on pushing the developers' interest. Let us remember that he himself is a small scale hotelier in Gozo.
Robert Abela's fibs are not reserved only for us, the Maltese plebs. He even tried to dupe EU Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic. She wrote to let him know that he should speed up legislation proposed by the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry. In her stinging letter she stressed that it was imperative that Malta "comply with international standards, engage civil society in the reform process and ensure accountability and transparency at all stages." She concluded by reminding him that "freedom of expression, media freedom and the safety of journalists is a prerequisite of a democratic society."
Robert Abela wrote back to Mijatov : "I personally had meetings with several stakeholders including the family of the late Daphne Caruana Galizia, their legal representatives, the Institute of Maltese Journalists and members of international organisations, including Article 19." The prime minister thought that his letter would remain undisclosed. However the Commissioner saw through him and published his letter in full, without any comment. Immediately Daphne's family denied such consultation had been held. Article 19 stated that "In our meetings with Robert Abela, free expression organisations offered the Maltese government technical assistance. None of these offers was taken up, nor has there been transparency or meaningful consultation."
Abela did not even tell the truth when speaking at the Council of Europe. "Government immediately under took broad and inclusive consultations to ensure a swift and timely implementation of the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry recommendations." There never was any consultation let alone 'broad and inclusive.' And there was no 'swift and timely implementation.' Most of the recomdenations have not been implemented and the couple that were are very ambiguous.
Just a few days ago Robert Abela heralded the Budget 2025 tax cuts as the biggest ever tax cut in Malta's history. Bollocks. The principal ever tax reduction was during the PN legislation between 1987 and 1992 when income tax was reduced from 65% to 35%.
Robert Abela never learns. He sadly has started to believe his own fabrications and thinks that if he keeps lying, his lies will someday be believed by all.
Joe Azzopardi
Joe Azzopardi is a former official at the ministries of the environment, justice and home affairs and foreign affairs.