Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1519725
OFTEN, I am not impressed by what the Chamber of Com- merce has to say. They have a great tradition in pontificating on how things should be run but when it comes to the actions and deeds of some of their promi- nent members, who have erred, they conveniently look the other way. And by the look of things, at least from their LinkedIn up- loads, every Tom, Dick and Harry appears to be eligible to become a Chamber of Com- merce member (as long as they pay). But this weekend's state- ment by the Chamber on the decision to issue a presidential pardon to those who benefitted from fraud linked to severe dis- ability benefits was spot on. The pardon sends the wrong message, especially to all those who choose to walk straight and not fall for the proverbial 'apple.' The history of fraudulently benefitting from social benefits goes back several years and is endemic to Malta and the Mal- tese psyche. The Maltese and Gozitans in general feel justified if they screw the State. There is, as someone always said, no 'senso dello stato' in little Malta. There is anarchy all over and it did not start now but has been with us for innumerable years. This anarchy is fuelled by a political class that encour- ages patronage. Patronage that is exacerbated by our electoral system which in turn encour- ages candidates to be depend- ent on every single vote. The right to take the law into one's hand is perhaps best illus- trated by the blatant use of pub- lic land whether it is an outside catering establishment in Gzira or a boat house by the shore at Armier or a small industri- al workshop on the bastions in Cottonera or even a trapping site on public land in Mgarr. Maltese and Gozitans believe they have a God given right to do as they please. More so, they feel privileged in finding ways of getting things for free or awarded to them even if they do not deserve them. Most, for example, are not even aware of the illegal moor- ings in bays which are 'private- ly owned' and leased out for thousands in a year. The whole issue about peo- ple getting 'boarded out' (re- signing before their time) is something that has persisted over the years. Basically, peo- ple pretending to suffer from a physical handicap or mental illness end up profiting from early retirement. The idea of pinning all these illegalities on one person is wrong. Undoubtedly, blame lies first and foremost on the persons who sought the servic- es of these people because they wanted to retire early in their career. We can nail the middleman and the professional who made this possible, but the benefi- ciary, an adult who wanted this to happen and was willing to pay the money, should not be exonerated even though they have been raised in a milieu that encourages people to by- pass the rules and get what they want through cheating. * * * Just for a minute, imagine, that a university in Europe and Malta was hosting protesting students in favour of Gaza and the local authorities called in the army to disperse the crowds and arrest the protestors. Imagine for a second, that the Chief Justice in a Europe- an nation or Malta was chosen by the Prime Minister and was asked to rule against the Prime Minister. Imagine for a while, if a Mal- tese politician claimed that the elections were rigged and then rallied his supporters to get on with it. Meaning that they ran- sack the House of Representa- tives. Just think of having a leader of a political party who is accused of rape, found guilty of rape, accused of paying hush money for sexual services and of cook- ing his accounts and avoiding millions in tax and after all this still stand for national elections as the presidential candidate. For one pretty moment, im- agine that you express your concern about the thousands of Gazans who die under Israe- li bombs supplied by America and are labelled anti-Semitic, censored and ostracised. And yes, in spite of all our hang ups of which we have many, I have to say that I am proud to be Maltese and I am so glad not to be American. * * * The disaster in traffic man- agement in the last few days is something best described by those parents or guardians who transported their children to examination halls. I must admit being parochial here but the traffic arrange- ment and changes in Naxxar, especially around Leli Falzon Street, by the local council are a veritable disaster. If there were experts involved in widening the pavements, creating new one way roads, or allowing for the shabby work to prolong over months then the definition of experts needs to be revisited. It is not only the local coun- cil and its mayor that can be blamed for the mess which has left Naxxar suffering from gridlock day in and day out, but it is also the central authorities that have failed to address this mayhem. Transport Malta needs to get involved and overrule the pet- ty planning. The central gov- ernment needs to get its act together by imposing the dic- tum that the right hand needs to know what the left hand is doing. The MATSEC board which holds its exams in Naxxar needs to coordinate with LE- SA, Transport Malta, the Min- istry of Transport, the local council, and the police. No one it seems knew that exams were happening. The consequence was a failed traffic arrangement that re- minded all drivers of a game of Super Mario on Nintendo. Trying to think of all the play- ers involved makes me aware of how ridiculous we have be- come; a rainbow of different agencies stepping on each oth- er's toes all operating in the lit- tle nation of Malta. It would be helpful also if the local council realises that it cannot issue permits for cranes or even works in the street if there is going to be a flurry of activity (such as hundreds of cars with anxious students sitting for their O-levels and A-levels). One last thing, if you have any sense and are a resident of Naxxar; I have a suggestion what to do with your vote in the next local council election. But even by MaltaToday stand- ards, to repeat my thoughts in writing would be extremely vulgar. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 APRIL 2024 OPINION 5 Saviour Balzan Pardon the bastards! Saviour Balzan is founder and co-owner of Media Today, publisher of MaltaToday, he is a TV host and pollster Silvio Grixti: The idea of pinning all these illegalities on one person is wrong. Undoubtedly, blame lies first and foremost on the persons who sought the services of these people because they wanted to retire early in their career.