Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1194267
19.12.19 12 OPINION George Mangion T hree weeks ago saw the resigna- tion of two cabinet ministers and a chief of staff. The prime min- ister also announced his resignation to take place on 12th January while Par- liamentary sessions were halted ahead of time for the Christmas recess. In these turbulent days, we also wit- nessed daily civil protests from vari- ous lobby groups alleging Castille to be complicit with the macabre assas- sination of Daphne Caruana Galizia - a journalist. This was carried out by a powerful car bomb secretly wired to her car and detonated electronically by a mo- bile device. So far, the press quotes a princely sum of euro 150k paid to a gang of three accused killers who plotted her demise on orders from the wealthi- est person on the island - he is now charged with being the mastermind and is in police custody. The latter was a close friend of the Chief of Staff at the office of the prime minister - a very powerful person and close confidant of Joseph Muscat. The Chief of Staff is reputed to be the brains that secured two successive landslide electoral victories for the Labour Party. Both the chief of staff and the tour- ism minister were accused by the late Daphne Caruana Galizia of having registered secret Panama companies aided and abetted by Brian Tonna M.D of the audit firm - Nexia BT. The latter has enjoined prolonged patronage from Castille by way of di- rect orders - he was elected as a per- son of trust within the Justice minis- try. Mr Tonna was also handpicked as the expert in the adjudication panel which advised government to select Electrogas as a bidder for a contro- versial euro 450 million tender to procure electricity. Electrogas is currently under the lense, as Jurgen Fenech - a minority shareholder - has been accused to be the mastermind behind the car bomb plot. He denied such accusations. This macabre scandal has suddenly erupt- ed last month drowning previous accolades to Joseph Muscat which poured from all quarters following a budget with a surplus for 2020. Last October, Joseph Muscat's ego skyrocketed with a swell of positive hubris following a popular budget. He was seen telling party faithful to re- joice as there was never a better time for the island. His budget showered more welfare benefits to pensioners and unprivileged classes. To add to his adulation, internation- al credit agencies issued favorable prognosis on the economic prospects while the latest IMF report goes to mention a number of steps to help ensure a sustained future growth. Alas the party is over now - every- one at Castille retired to the darkest corner reaching out for tranquiliz- ers and black coffee - facing vocifer- ous street protests baying for justice. Some party bigwigs found courage to ask Joseph Muscat to leave immedi- ately thus assuming political respon- sibility for the saga. The stark reality is that the island has suffered a battering to its inter- national reputation as a result of tales of corruption and sleaze (not to men- tion criminal overtones) tarnishing the very top echelons of the ruling political class. As can be expected, angry and be- trayed party bigwigs are crying for retribution - a collective blame hov- ers over the heads of cabinet who ac- quiesced with the leader. They expect the new prime minis- ter to be a new broom to sweep the decks - but can the slate be swept clean when meritocracy went down the drain to be replaced by cronyism, nepotism and thousands of so called "soldiers of steel" enlisted with perks simply to act as gate keepers. The fly in the ointment is the un- bridled building frenzy which came under heavy attack from environ- mentalists, civil society, Caritas and Church authorities lamenting the mad rush to invoke Dubai-ification and make a quick buck. This can only be a symptom of wanton greed. It led to the ruin of traditional core values and way of life. Party apolo- gists painted a fairy picture about a fleeting feel-good factor but deep down foundations are weak. Really and truly there has been a complete takeover by sleazy barons who signed lucrative PPP schemes with Castille with impunity. This has killed initiative and suppressed inno- vation especially from the under priv- ileged - with no access to ever flowing gravy train. Equally relevant are the allegations of alleged political interference at Castille when approving Malta pass- ports to wealthy foreigners - a case in point saw a top local agent bragging to a foreign (under cover) TV crew how they are able to guarantee 100% success on the strength of their close political ties - even so where appli- cants have a criminal record. The agent's license was immediately suspended while ministry denied any interference in the processing of ap- plicants. The IIP regulator quickly carried out an investigation and solemnly declared that there were no traces of trading in influence by politicians. There are other skeletons in the public cupboards - starting from noise and air pollution from mass tourism, pollution from cruise liners, lack of social housing, explosion of social rents and the burgeoning mo- tor traffic. During the past six years, we wit- nessed government priming the pump by conceding prime land for residential towers worth millions at a heavily discounted price. Govern- ment defended its actions saying it was guided by an independent valua- tion from a big four audit firm. This is not a level playing field es- pecially where SME's are concerned - the latter are struggling to keep pace with competition and due to their small size, albeit they make up 85% of local industry, they face perennial problems to meet the challenges of the 4th Industrial revolution. Although the bureaucracy speaks of attractive concessions from Malta en- terprise, facts show SME's are not the government darlings. But it is not all doom and gloom since it is an undis- puted fact that Malta enjoyed accel- erated GDP growth (the best in EU) garnered during the Muscat's admin- istration which mushroomed in an unprecedented exuberance. Hope springs eternal to the sans culotte that the next prime minister will sift the chaff from the wheat and carry out a root and branch overhaul to restore serenity and the rule of law. Already, there has been suggestions by Dr Fearne (a favorite candidate) as to how the medicine can be adminis- tered to cure the sick patient in ten measured doses. Moving forward, one hopes that the dark cloud that is usurping our Christmas cheer will pass quickly. Pray our Savonarola finds strength to demand the resignation of all persons of trust and unceremoniously replace the lot by meritorious candidates. Hopefully we ill get early closure as otherwise the uncertainty may burst the property bubble with dire con- sequences for banks, estate agents, leaving in its wake unpaid suppliers, shell properties and the plague of re- dundancies. Surely if Dr Fearne is elected prime minister, he would be well advised to hone his tools for deep surgery. We wish him well in this Herculean task once he promised us "we can do it". A Merry Christmas to all. Welcome a new prime minister - we can do it George Mangion is a senior partner of an audit and consultancy firm, and has over 25 years experience in accounting, taxation, financial and consultancy services. His efforts have seen PKF being instrumental in establishing many companies in Malta and ensured PKF become one of the foremost professional financial service providers on the Island