Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1426475
2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 NOVEMBER 2021 PAC: playpen of democracy Editorial THERE is only one way to describe last Wednes- day's meeting of the Public Accounts Committee. It was a total circus that should have made voters squirm at the hysterics on show. This meeting was supposed to discuss matters of the gravest national importance, raised by the Na-tional Audit Office. It was the perfect occasion to present questions ranging from the adjudication of the Electrogas tender, to the role of SOCAR, to Konrad Mizzi's own connections to the busi- ness-men involved. What we witnessed, however, was the diametric opposite of what we, as citizens, are entitled to ex- pect from the House of Representatives. Rather than a measured encounter with a former mem-ber of the Labour executive, who is obliged to answer to his peers over his past actions, we were regaled with a show of hysterics and shrill theatrics… all in the name of partisan tribalism. It was a situation aided by all parties in the PAC. In the first instance, Konrad Mizzi showed utter dis- respect to the committee by refusing to attend when asked to: illustrating that a toothless PAC was una- ble to bring the MP to answer, even to the damning findings of a National Audit Office re-port. When Konrad Mizzi finally appeared, he turned what should have been an initial statement, into an hour-long 'oral presentation'. The boisterous MP rattled his cage; he shrieked and hollered; he played to the gallery of his former Labour voters, and en- joyed his shrill dressing-down of his Na-tionalist in- quisitors... and all along, the Opposition MPs heck- led. It was all grist to Mizzi's (and La-bour's) mill. On its part, the government side – naturally uneasy with the NAO findings, and with having its for-mer energy minister, once a darling of the Muscat administration, engaged in a searing grill- ing – simply sat back and enjoyed the show: when in reality, Mizzi was indeed attacking the institution of Parliament itself. Instead of understanding that their PAC col- leagues were entitled, just as much they are, to brevity and clear answers, government members watched Mizzi repeat tried-and-tested political mantras, cheap shots and regurgitated accusations: all meant to distract the PAC from its rightful mis- sion to exact answers from witnesses. Moreover, Mizzi was disingenuous when absolv- ing himself by taking credit for lower energy bills and delivering the switch from heavy fuel oil to LNG gas. For this is not about the validity of the policy of shifting to LNG; but rather, about the way this change was delivered. LNG may well have been a good idea which had positive impacts on the country; but that does not justify deficiencies in the way the tender was award- ed. Secondly, the bills were de facto lowered before the LNG power station started operating: partly, thanks to a decrease in the international price of oil. More importantly, however, Mizzi's behaviour as energy minister is conditioned by fact that he owned an undisclosed Panama company, which listed Elec- trogas shareholder (now prime suspect in the Daph- ne Caruana Galizia murder trial) Yorgen Fenech as one of its clients. This link was further reinforced by recently-pub- lished chats which, for the first time, showed Fenech lobbying Mizzi over the proposed ITS project in Smart City. But while Konrad Mizzi was desperately trying to score points with Labour grassroots, the truth is that he was somewhat enabled to do so, by both PAC chairman Beppe Fenech Adami (who engaged in the shouting match); and also by Labour Whip Glenn Bedingfield, who cannot, or is unwilling to, detach himself from the Muscat era. In some ways, the Opposition may have been counting on Mizzi to behave precisely that way; as his continued endearment with Labour grassroots only complicates life for a Prime Minister who still walks a tightrope between 'continuity' and 'change'. Robert Abela has nothing to gain by any asso-ciation with Mizzi; but the PN probably stands to gain by reinforcing the idea that Mizzi is still in the PL fold. But last week's PAC was a failure on all sides. Fenech Adami was unable to control the hearing, and indeed enjoyed watching Konrad Mizzi's high- pitched rowdiness. "Not a good look, dear boy," Fenech Adami told Mizzi. Indeed… not a good look, for all MPs. What sort of rules does the PAC have for witness- es to abide by, when an MP openly disrespects an institution which directly represents the people of Malta; and is instead used as an arena for Mal-ta's tribalism? Where is the onus on government MPs to respect the work carried out by other inquiring MPs in the PAC, just as they had done in their time, as probing MPs in the Opposition? Why does Glenn Beding- field, government whip, enable the theatrics of Kon- rad Mizzi? And where is the Speaker, to ensure that Malta's PAC hearings are carried out with the same level of decorum that we see in the British House of Repre- sentatives, or in the US Senate? Clearly, the Public Accounts Committee needs proper guidelines on how such meetings should proceed. Having said this, one cannot expect 'justice' to be delivered by the PAC, either. This is not a tri- bunal or a court of law: which is, ultimately, the only place where Mizzi can be tried and prosecuted. But that does not justify turning the PAC into a political theatre, either. The country deserves bet- ter. 6 November 2011 BOV cards found in Muatassim Gaddafi's wallet ACTIVE credit cards issued by Bank of Valletta and found inside Muatassim Gaddafi's wallet the day he was captured have revealed a Malta address for the slain son of Col. Gaddafi. The gold and platinum Bank of Valletta Visa cards, both bearing the name 'Dr Muatasmbllah Abumi' were confirmed to belong to Mua- tassim Gaddafi, under an abbreviated alias of the uncommonly used Muatassim-Billah Abu- minyar Muammar (son of Muammar). The cards, together with other personal ob- jects, were taken off Muatassim by the Misurata fighters who captured him and his father Col. Gaddafi as they attempted to escape from Sirte on 20 October. The cards – issued by BOV last year and expire in 2013 – also revealed information on Muatassim's financial ties in Malta. Embossed beneath Muatassim's name was the company's account name – Capital Re- sources Ltd. When contacted, a Bank of Valletta spokes- man declined to comment, adding that "the bank is not in a position to reply in view of its obligation of professional secrecy". Bank of Valletta declined to comment on whether any transactions were made by using the cards throughout the eight months of the Libyan revolution while Muatassim was on the run, and supposedly his assets frozen under United Nations and European Union sanctions. Last year, the New York Post revealed that Muatassim Gaddafi was client to former Labour Party treasurer Joe Sammut, an auditor and financial advisor from Mosta. Sammut reportedly handled hundreds of thousands of dollars on behalf of Muatassim Gaddafi, and was said to be involved in organis- ing parties featuring Snoop Dog, Nelly Furtado, and Enrique Iglesias (among others), for the entertainment of Gaddafi's sons. Contacted by MaltaToday, Joe Sammut re- fused to say if he was involved in the setting up of Capital Resources Ltd, and whether he han- dled the BOV accounts for Muatassim while he was on the run. .... Quote of the Week "You think you can do whatever you want because your father was President, you think you are royalty," Former minister Konrad Mizzi addressing Beppe Fenech Adami during a hearing of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee MaltaToday 10 years ago