Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/682623
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 22 MAY 2016 15 lieve that Labour and Nationalists should both be held to account: for power doesn't exert its influence only on those people we elect to govern the country. The network of power is far more widespread than that; we got an indication of how it works in the Panama papers…" At first glance, the Panama reve- lations seem to dramatically under- score Callus's earlier point regard- ing disillusionment under Labour. It was ultimately a combination of corruption allegations and shoddy governance that brought down the Gonzi administration…. yet only three years later, the incom- ing Labour government finds itself exposed to much the same charges. "On one level we had the rev- elations concerning Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, who set up a trust with companies registered in Panama. Here, there is a personal political responsibility to be shoul- dered; it is incredible that these two people are still in their positions to- day. They should have resigned im- mediately. "But on another level, we also saw how many people on both sides had positioned themselves at different levels within the same system. The positions were different, true, but they are still connected to the same issue. Some people invested their own money in these jurisdictions; others helped their clients to do the same. But at the end of the day, why would you want to put your money in a place like Panama… if not to evade tax, or to hide where it came from? There is no other valid reason…" Would he put the list of legal firms acting as intermediaries in the same category as 'politically ex- posed persons' such as Mizzi and Schembri? "No, there is a difference. As pub- lic officials and as direct beneficiar- ies of trusts, Mizzi and Schembri have an enormous individual re- sponsibility which can't be avoided. It is an obscenity that they still haven't shouldered this responsi- bility. But this doesn't change the fact that the system itself is rotten to the core. Much as I think Mizzi and Schembri should resign, the truth is that their resignations will achieve nothing if the system re- mains unchanged… and, tomor- row or the day after, we find differ- ent people in the same positions, be they Labour or Nationalist. Struc- turally, something is clearly wrong with the system. And the political parties are part of this problem: their connections with contractors, property speculators, and various business interests run too deep. You can see this in the legislation they enact. Very often, it is legisla- tion tailored to cater for the few at the expense of the many…' Speaking of shared approaches and policies, the Panama issue also exposed Malta's own question- able role as a minor player in the complex world of international tax-hopping. Our own jurisdiction might not be classed as an outright tax haven alongside Panama or the British Virgin islands… but Malta has nonetheless been criticised by other European states for tinkering with its tax rates to attract indus- tries which shop around for the best conditions. This contradiction is perhaps best illustrated by a recent quote by Nationalist MP Kristy Debono, who argued that the scandal has 'made it harder for Malta to oppose European tax harmonisation"... when harmonisation is in fact be- ing considered as a measure to counter global tax evasion… "This sort of hypocrisy is not limited to Malta alone. The Neth- erlands also plays a huge role when it comes to tax evasion: in fact, during the Greek bailout crisis, the Greek government accused the Netherlands of hypocrisy… af- ter it turned out that many Greek companies had relocated there to avoid paying tax. This reflects a much deeper reality, which can be seen at local level too. In what direction is our economy heading? Often, governments argue that sectors such as financial services are important, 'because the econ- omy needs them'… as though 'the economy' is something that just falls from the sky. But the econ- omy is something we create and shape ourselves: it is a direction governments choose to take. Do we want to build our economy on foundations that are very shaky? In the long term, this is not in Malta's interest…" At the same time, however, there are reliable indications of a robust economic performance: recent up- grades by credit ratings agencies, for instance, or statistics concern- ing employment… "It is true that employment, in itself, is not a major issue at the moment. But the conditions of work here are very bad. We've already talked about how low the minimum age is: but there are a lot of people in Malta who earn even less. Workers who are unreg- istered, or in precarious employ- ment, or exploited… many of them don't know their rights as employ- ees, and those who do often feel it's simply not worth trying to fight for those rights. And again, the two parties are in agreement even when it comes to workers' rights and conditions. Under the Nation- alists, we had Tonio Fenech who took away public holidays which fell on weekends… and while La- bour protested at the time, the re- ality is that they have been in gov- ernment for three years and have done nothing about it." But these considerations pale somewhat, compared to the issue that has inspired Graffitti's latest participation in another protest… this time organised by a network of different NGOs, to raise aware- ness about the environmental situ- ation. "The initiative is called 'Kamp Emergenza Ambjent'… because we believe that the environmen- tal situation in this country is an emergency that is threatening our future in a very real, very di- rect and very physical way. In the short time I've been alive, all I have seen are buildings going up, and the natural landscape being eaten away at an astonishingly fast pace. "But this is not just about green spaces… there is democracy itself at stake. It is the same rotten sys- tem that has to change. When you look at decisions taken by different administrations concerning the environment… in whose name are those decisions taken? Who ben- efits from the constant sacrifice of more and more land to be gobbled up by developers? It is definitely not the majority who care about the future wellbeing of the coun- try. We believe the time has come for people to show their concern about this by taking direct action, and putting pressure on the gov- ernment. It is an emergency situ- ation, and as such it calls for im- mediate action." Interview Social equality campaigner ANDRE CALLUS, of Moviment Graffitti, outlines the need for a radical culture shift to counter a social, political and environmental emergency Malta