Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/260953
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2014 2014 Opinion 18 Opinion Saviour Balzan S urely the revelation that Enemalta meter readers had been involved in accepting bribes to reduce the value of an electricity bill comes as no surprise to most of us. Every household or business has been offered 'a way out' when it comes to reducing a reading from a Smart Meter or traditional meter. The surprise is that we have finally decided to nail the meter readers and parade them in court. What is even more surprising is that the former administration had discovered the theft and done nothing about it, even if we knew it was happening all along. The PN's newspaper In-Nazzjon has very stupidly reported that one of the arraigned meter readers was close to Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi. The story would have had some news value – or at least a political angle – if the person in question was in fact not arraigned (read: if Mizzi had tried to save 'his man' from being caught). As far as I know, Mizzi is the real reason we've got this far into the investigation in the first place. It's sad how the political media never seem to learn. But of course, it's difficult to picture Simon Busuttil praising Konrad Mizzi for his actions. But this short commentary is not about Konrad Mizzi – who certainly appears to be a more effective minister than all his predecessors lumped together (and these include Ninu Zammit, Austin Gatt and Tonio Fenech). Rather, it is about our cross-party, cross-cultural fetish for shafting the state – and when necessary, even our own family – and of making money and profits in the most incorrigible ways. This brief analysis is all about the automatic, ingrained assumption which tells us that robbing the state or making illegal, undeclared and secretive gains on the side is not wrong. In the long years of our Roman Catholic upbringing, we have been brainwashed and literally forced into believing that the only wrong in the world is sex. We were told that being a puritan should be the main priority of our lives. The rest was all very silly. As we grew up we came to terms with the other side of Maltese society: the libertarian middle class, the mistresses, the incest and of course the fact that everyone loves sex (including a sizeable section of the clergy). Someone of my age – and I guess thousands could relate to this experience – would be brought up in the 60s and 70s and taught to equate sex with something intrinsically evil and wrong. It was as if sin was all about sex. Practically everything else – apart from murder – was perfectly okay. Throughout the years, the Church failed to dedicate even a smidgeon of its preaching on the morality of filling up your tax return diligently, of not double-crossing your brothers and sisters, of not shafting your employees or employer, and considering that the state was also part of you. Of not asking who at MEPA could help you out or who at the Maritime Authority could wave green card for your license, or corrupting a VAT official… and of course, the infamous Customs Department! Perhaps one should take a look at the lifestyle of all the customs officials of yesteryear to understand what they lived off of. Further examples abound: driving schools, and better still – the highest levels of the judiciary. Even shooting an eagle was sort of okay… not to mention the issue of tenders and contracts. Please do not underestimate the impact the Church contributed to our warped attitude or understanding of morality. We were brought up with the notion that the family comes first, second and third… and the rest is really rather irrelevant. Litigation over inheritances left families, brothers and sisters at loggerheads. This is not a one-off case, but prevalent in most Maltese families, as most notaries will attest. The oil scandal, which features George Farrugia, is more about George Farrugia the self-declared Jesus freak, shafting his brothers behind their backs, and then rushing off to a religious function. It makes me want to puke. What George Farrugia did is not unique. It is practised by hundreds of other Maltese. That most of them spend long hours praising the Lord only makes my disapproval of Malta's take on spirituality even stronger. Scratching your back to scratch yours is the thing of the day. When Tonio Fenech employed – or used, or whatever you want to call it – the Montebello brothers (then his canvassers) to renovate his new house, it was intentional and wrong and yet he got off the hook. The fact that the Montebellos were involved in major projects and depended on the benevolence of the administration is of course not important. In conversations at dinner parties or over a drink, one does not score brownie points if they boast how diligent they are paying taxes. On the contrary, tax evasion is something you are allowed to brag about. If you say that you pay all your taxes, you are considered to be an idiot. Politicians and businessmen of course do not help the cause. They set the worst example, and because we all know that they will lose no opportunity to do it themselves, most people begin to wonder why they shouldn't do it too. Why should we not f*** over the government, or even the employer? But I have to say that I was shocked to see a man who admitted to tampering with a Smart Meter being sent off to jail for two years. If we are to follow that kind of justice, I suggest that the prison authorities issue an urgent tender for taking over all the hotels on the island. This nation is at fault. The country is corrupt. We are all guilty of tax evasion, petty corruption and collusion. There are probably so many people at fault that the Kordin prison would not be able to keep up with the demand of jailing all the nation at once. Then I'm sure the new prison regime will provide us with a set of equally corrupt wardens who will provide us with a set of exciting drugs and of course something to quench our sexual desires. From the political class, the judiciary, to the police and to civil servants, professionals and even priests, there has been evidence of a general contempt of the law. Many operate under the guise of their spouses, girlfriends, friends, nominees or fiduciaries to operate within structures were they are not allowed to function. Some are semi-legal, others are outright illegal. We as Maltese scorn every rule in the book, whether it is law or even ethical standards. The meter reader scam started off after Austin Gatt's brash price hike. That is what happens when you put people in such tight corners. In years gone by, when Labour under Mintoff banned colour TVs, the in thing was buying colour TVs on the black market. It will only change when the people at the top start setting a good example. That is why the decision to hit out at the meter readers was correct and necessary. The In-Nazzjon should have read: 'Fl-aħħar xi ħadd jaqbad il-meter readers' – 'Finally someone nails the meter readers'. This nation is at fault. The country is corrupt. We are all guilty of tax evasion, petty corruption and collusion. There are probably so many people at fault that the Kordin prison would not be able to keep up with the demand of jailing all the nation at once letters of credit ship nance payments forfaiting factoring mbank.com 2132 2100 FIMBank is an international trade nance specialist with an established reputation as a dynamic and customer-driven provider of trade nance solutions. FIMBank is headquartered in Malta and benets from a growing network of international oces. documentary collections bonds and guarantees treasury management structured trade nance commodity trade nance letters of credit ship nance payments forfaiting factoring Trade Finance Solutions engineered for business success How much dirtier can you get?