Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1526409
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 SEPTEMBER 2024 OPINION A government designed to fail THERE must have been a clever mo- ment way back in the 1990s when the politicians of that era thought that the best way to circumvent the overbearing civil service was to create new replicas of the civil service transform them into agencies with dazzling corporate names and logos. The agencies were designed to be headed by a political appointee with a large board and then a CEO and sever- al managers who were paid rates of pay that were significantly higher than the salaries of those who worked in the civil service. The agencies were housed in rented offices, with expensive furniture and design architecture and provided with unnecessary assistance. The renting of the premises was also intelligently devised to grease the rental market for some very important influential proper- ty owners. Over the years the agencies multiplied, creating little spheres of influence. Today there are enough agencies to accommodate the large number of po- litical leeches that expect to be recog- nised for their loyalty to their party. In the process, we now have a situation where agencies have overlapping roles and responsibilities but as citizens we are forever unable to see some efficient and intelligent coordination between these entities. To make matters worse, the agen- cies operate under different ministries, which are seemingly also facing an acute crisis in determining the respon- sibilities of each entity. No one it seems wants to question whether this plethora of agencies makes sense, more so in a nation, that is very similar to a medium sized town in the Europe, Africa, Asia or the US. Talking to some of the agency CEOs makes you wonder whether the whole thinking behind so many agencies is in fact an exercise in making the work pro- cess stall. Take for example the responsibility for the construction or maintenance of a road, the process to achieve this and the input it requires from entities that have their services passing below the surface. There is Transport Malta, Infrastructure Malta, the WSC, Ene- malta, Project Green, the local council and when applicable the Foundation for Tomorrows' Schools, the Education Department, the Contracts department, the Treasury and very probably ERA, the Superintendence for Cultural Herit- age, and the Planning Authority. There are other agencies I have forgotten to mention. And in every nook and cranny in Mal- ta and Gozo, success in coordination between all these entities comes about by absolute sheer luck. To make mat- ters worse, these agencies are plagued by bureaucracy and red tape and in some case when a CEO is lethargic and sluggish, the response rate to a problem is... lethargic. We are caught in a rut, and once again there does not seem to be anyone around to change or formulate a blue- print to reform the essence of having an efficient governing system. It seems so futile. * * * Feasts, fireworks, and loud music is one way of bringing people togeth- er. But surely it cannot be that feasts around the island continue for seven days as if we were celebrating the fall of Rome. I am not really interested in underlin- ing the pagan element of the feasts in Malta and Gozo, I am sure that we can at least agree Maltese feasts use the re- ligious event as an excuse to celebrate through fireworks displays throughout the night and ground fireworks in vil- lage centres accompanied by penetrat- ing loud pop and rock music until the early hours of the morning. The other side to our feasts is that the village centres are blocked from traffic and all over Malta and Gozo the bad traffic situation is made even worse with the diversions and re-routing. Everyone talks of consensus on feasts, but it simply is not true. Many disagree with the exaggeration that has taken over what are supposed to be religious feasts; many cannot understand how the authorities and the Church offer no opposition to this orgy of celebration that has no limits and gets worse year after year. * * * Media focus abroad and locally on Roberta Metsola's unique exclusion from conflict of interest criteria caught the eye of the Labour Party and some Labour stalwarts. As expected they raised hell about the virginal aspects of the EU president. Though Metsola should realise that she is not beyond reproach, there is a farcical angle to all this criticism. If Metsola should be criticised it is not because of her disregard for ethi- cal issues but rather for her very arro- gant and egoistic decision to remain in Brussels and allow the PN to fall apart. She very well knows that she could lead the PN to victory. But she has chosen the path of glory and prestige in Brus- sels and only refers to her small island nation when she needs the votes to get elected to give her the right to fly her flag in Brussels. Labour pundits who have lashed out at Metsola should stop confuting ethi- cal issues with corruption and bad gov- ernance. And before lambasting Met- sola, they should have a closer look at the mayhem Joseph Muscat has created. Worse still, the fact that MEPs such as Daniel Attard find no fault with Muscat should make everyone ask a very simple question. Who the flying fuck do they think they are fooling? If Metsola should be criticised it is not because of her disregard for ethical issues but rather for her very arrogant and egoistic decision to remain in Brussels and allow the PN to fall apart Saviour Balzan Saviour Balzan is founder and co-owner of Media Today, publisher of MaltaToday, he is a TV host and pollster