Devious politicians cannot commit to good governance

One may find it hard to grasp, perhaps even harder to absorb, the serious implications of the current goings-on in the local political scenario. But it is becoming clearer. Government is failing miserably to nip alleged cases of corruption, scandals, abus

It could be political fatigue. It could be carelessness. It could be incompetence. It could be a high level of arrogance. It could be nonchalance. It could be … what? I did not get that. Oh yes, you are quite right, but that’s rather explicit. The editor may not allow me to pen foul language so I will refrain from being unequivocal; however, I am sure you got the drift. Whatever the reason or reasons, this administration is working tirelessly to abolish all traces of good governance.

The reason for such an attitude could be found in the fact that this administration feels invincible at the polls and so disregards the electorate’s frame of mind completely. Very true, the large number of votes garnered in the last general election may be perceived as a large and comfortable enough cushion to ensure for the incumbent’s soft landing in the corridors of power in the coming election. The assumption is quite right. But all this can change if one takes into account the fact that this administration has pulled a fast one on the electorate on too many occasions in the past four years. All this will change if the electorate decides to put the national good the number one priority.

At times I wonder why Government is repeatedly, and willingly, putting himself in tight corners. The current administration has displayed that it is wilfully prepared to take, metaphorically speaking of course, hard punches in the stomach, firm blows below the belt and whacks to the temple, the nose and the jaw from different quarters including, but not exclusively, the Opposition. The social partners are too getting hot under the collar. The Chamber of Commerce, the Malta Employers’ Association and the UHM Voice of the Workers have all expressed their indignation at the current poor level of good governance. Other nongovernmental organisations have also voiced their concerns, but all pleas have been ignored by the present administration. The media has also alerted Government of serious shortcomings. But instead of thanking the media for revealing secret dealings, the Government is threatening to come down like a ton of bricks on media houses.

A case in point is the recent story published in Malta Today wherein it was reported that a young woman was apprehended by police officers at Mġarr ix-Xini after being caught red-handed with nine packets of heroin at a party in June 2013. In her initial statement to the police, she admitted to being in possession of the drugs but claimed that two other persons were in fact the traffickers. Some months later, the fathers of the implicated two young males were noted entering a government building at around 11.00 pm. There, they had a meeting with two senior politicians and were seen leaving the building at around 01.00 am.

Soon after the meeting between the young men’s fathers and the two politicians, the young female suspect asked to have her statement changed. According to the newspaper, the woman changed her statement. In her new statement, she claimed that the young males were not involved in providing her with drugs.

Following the news report, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced that Dr Frank Testa will head an inquiry to look into the allegations. But shortly after, Dr Testa recused himself and Dr John Vassallo, a former PL candidate, was appointed in his stead to conduct the inquiry. The allegations are of a very serious nature and should be dealt with expediently, transparently and efficiently.

Government could have saved itself from another blow by appointing a serving or a retired judge to conduct the inquiry. It is certainly appropriate to name the other members of the inquiry board and at minimum set a time frame by when the inquiry is to be finalised while making it amply clear that the findings will be made public.

And perhaps more importantly, if found responsible for any wrongdoing, the politicians and public officers involved in this case should be held accountable for their highly irregular and abusive actions.

Government, for no apparent reason or I should pen motives which are not yet known, lost a golden opportunity to show the electorate that in the fight against drugs trafficking there are no holds barred. People, irrespective of their political leaning, are concerned with the number of people falling victims to drug traffickers.

If the story revealed in The Malta Today is true, it is shocking to say the least. It reveals the high level of hypocrisy of some of our so called politicians. The irreparable harm to all honest, diligent and hardworking members of parliament sitting on all sides of the House, and aspiring ones, is becoming beyond repair.

The cheek that such dishonest politicians have is beyond comprehension. It is very unbecoming that these islands are run by devious politicians who, on one hand, have the gall to secretly assist drug traffickers get off the hook and, on the other, act as if they care and have the nerve to embrace parents grieving over lifeless bodies lost to drug overdose. In such shameful cases, a lifetime sentence behind bars for these so called politicians should not be excluded in the event of a guilty verdict.

Hopefully, the electorate will recollect these tragic situations and commit to incapacitate this administration when the time comes before it would become harder to re-introduce normality, good governance and the rule-of-law.