Il-privatizzazzjoni tal-Enemalta

 

Id-dibattitu ta’ dawn il-ġranet fil-Parlament, inkluż illum huwa dwar il-privatizzazzjoni tal-Enemalta.

Ftit ħsibijiet.

Huwa ironiku li din il-privatizzazzjoni qed issir minn dak li baqa’ mill-Partit Laburista li pass pass qed jitlef il-kuntatt mal-għeruq tiegħu fuq ix-xellug.

Fil-proċess tal-privatizzazzjoni tal-Enemalta l-Gvern tal-Labour qed jissepara l-ħaddiema mill-assi tal-Enemalta. Jidher li ċ-Ċiniżi ma jridux jitgħabbew bil-piż tal-pagi tal-1,600 ħaddiem tal-Enemalta.

Il-Gvern tal-Labour ser jittratta lill-ħaddiema  tal-Enemalta bl-istess mod li l-Gvern tal-PN ittratta lill-ħaddiema tat-Tarżna. B’differenza waħda. Din id-darba għadni ma smajtx leħen il-GWU!

B’dan il-pass ser tingħata daqqa oħra lill-kontroll sovran tal-pajjiż fuq l-enerġija.

L-interess nazzjonali

 

Qed jgħidulna li min jitkellem b’mod kritiku dwar dak li jkun qed jiġri f’Malta barra l-pajjiż ikun qed jaġixxi kontra l-interess nazzjonali.

Jekk taqra dak li qed jingħad qiesu hemm xi obbligu li f’fora internazzjonali kull Malti għandu l-obbligu li jfaħħar u jappoġġa dak li jagħmel il-Gvern. Bħala eżempju ġieli jgħidulna li d-delegazzjoni Laburista fil-Parlament Ewropew appoġġat il-kandidatura ta’ Tonio Borg għal Kummissarju Ewropew. Qiesu jridu jgħidulna li għamlu hekk minkejja li kienu jafu li dik ma kienitx għażla tajba, iżda huma xorta taw l-appoġġ tagħhom, ovvjament fl-interess nazzjonali!

Fil-fatt meta d-delegazzjoni Laburista appoġġat il-kandidatura ta’ Tonio Borg (minkejja li kienet taf li dik kien proposta żbaljata tal-Gvern immexxi minn Lawrence Gonzi) imxiet kontra l-interess nazzjonali, għax l-interess ta’ Malta kien li jkollna Kummissarju differenti.  Tonio Borg minkejja l-kwalitajiet tajba tiegħu ma kienx għażla tajba għall-kariga ta’ Kummissarju Ewropew.

Bħalma l-Labour dakinnhar żbaljaw, illum jippretendu li l-iżball tagħhom jimitah kulhadd. Jippretendu appoġġ għami għal dak li jagħmel il-Gvern. Taqbel u ma taqbilx. Fl-interess nazzjonali, ovvjament.

Ma hemm l-ebda obbligu li nagħtu appoġġ lill-Gvern meta dan jiżbalja. La f’Malta u l-anqas barra minn Malta.  Hu kontra l-interess nazzjonali li tappoġġa proposti żbaljati biex tidher taparsi patrijott.

X’tagħmel il-GWU dwar il-proposta tal-Gvern dwar il-bejgħ taċ-ċittadinanza hi għażla tagħha. Il-GWU għandha kull dritt (u obbligu) li tasal għall-konklużjonjiet tagħha dwar dak li jkun għaddej. Kif jagħmel ħaddieħor. Pero’ l-President tal-GWU ma għandu l-ebda dritt jippretendi u jinsisti li d-diskussjoni ma tmurx lil hinn minn xtutna. Dak li qed jipproponi l-Gvern dwar iċ-ċittadinanza għandu, implikazzjonijiet serji lil hinn minn xtutna u għalhekk hu floku li l-Parlament Ewropew jiddiskuti l-materja f’nofs Jannar 2014.

Dak kollu li jiġri Malta qatt ma kien ta’ interess għalina biss. Iktar u iktar illum li niffurmaw parti mill-Unjoni Ewropeja. Dak kollu li jiġri f’Malta jinteressa lil kulħadd. Bl-istess mod jinteressa lilna dak li jiġri f’pajjiżi oħra ukoll, kemm dawk li pajjiżi li huma qrib tagħna kif ukoll dawk li huma iktar il-bogħod.

Per eżempju kien hemm żmien meta l-Libja, fi żmien Muammar Gaddafi, ftehmet ma Sarkozy (dakinnhar President ta’ Franza) dwar ix-xiri ta’ impjant nuklejari biex dan ikun istallat mal-kosta Libjana ħalli jipproduċi ilma tajjeb għax-xorb mill-ilma baħar. Dan l-impjant, jekk il-kostruzzjoni tiegħu jseħħ, jista’ jkollu impatt negattiv fuq Malta, iżda minkejja dan ħadd ma fetaħ ħalqu dwaru ħlief Alternattiva Demokratika. L-anqas meta l-Italja taħt Silvio Berlusconi ipprovat tibni impjant nuklejari 94 kilometru l-bogħod minn Għawdex (f’Palma di Montechiaro mal-kosta t’isfel ta’ Sqallija) ukoll ħadd ma fetaħ ħalqu f’Malta ħlief Alternattiva Demokratika. Dan minkejja l-potenzjal ta’ impatt diżastruż ta’ dan l-impjant fuq il-gżejjer Maltin.

L-interess nazzjonali dakinnhar kien jitlob li l-Gvern u l-Opposizzjoni jiftħu ħalqhom. Iżda kemm il-PN kif ukoll il-Labour dakinnhar baqgħu siekta t-tnejn. Bħala riżultat ta’ dak is-skiet dakinnhar irrenjaw l-interessi ta’ Franza, tal-Libja u tal-Italja, mhux l-interess nazzjonali ta’ Malta.

Fi ftit kliem is-skiet biss huwa kontra l-interess nazzjonali. Għandna l-obbligu li niftħu ħalqna dejjem. Nitkellmu b’mod responsabbli iva, imma mhux li nżommu ħalqna magħluq.

Hu fl-interess nazzjonali li min hu tal-fehma li l-iskema tal-bejgħ taċ-ċittadinanza proposta mill-Gvern ta’ Malta hi żbaljata jesprimi ruħu pubblikament, dejjem sakemm dan isir b’mod responsabbli. Ikun qed jimxi kontra l-interess nazzjonali min, minkejja dan, jibqa’ ħalqu magħluq. Hu biss is-skiet li jagħmel il-ħsara.

ippubblikat fuq iNews, it-Tlieta 31 ta’ Diċembru 2013

Labour : ensuring a smooth transition

Franco Debono has made many a statement during the past 12 months. He abstained when a vote of no confidence was submitted against Minister Austin Gatt. He explained that he did so as he wanted to give the man and his party another chance!

He has been stating for days now, that he will not vote in favour of the budget  because he considers that Austin Gatt should have resigned months ago due to his political failures. Whether  Franco Debono will keep his word is anybody’s guess. But if he does the budget will not be approved. We will have to keep guessing what comes next for some more days.

With this in mind the budget’s relevance is limited.

But we need not panic as Labour will come to the rescue. Labour, we are told, will deliver.

Progressive Labour will deliver income tax revised rates which will ignore low wage earners and reduce tax payable to those who are already reasonably well off. No tax deductions can be guaranteed for low wage earners by Labour.

Progressive Labour, like conservative PN, does not agree with the need to revise the minimum wage. It is not in the interest of employers to do so. And it is their vote which progressive Labour is after.  The employers’ vote, that is!

Why should progressive Labour accept the GWU’s proposal to have the cost of living adjustment paid in two installments?  There is consensus between the PN and Labour that the GWU’s proposals should be ignored. It is only Alternattiva Demokratika which has offered support for a progressive incomes policy as proposed by the GWU.

Labour, the progressive party, has opted for a conservative approach: the PN’s approach. It is the only way forward as in this way it ensures a smooth transition,  continuity and stability!

…………… and they looked from pig to man and from man to pig again and could not tell which was which.  The more things change, the more they remain the same.

published at di-ve.com  on Friday 30 November 2012

Joseph (il-progressiv) delivers

Joseph Muscat jaqbel mal-budget tal-bieraħ. Tant li qiegħed jgħid li l-Partit Laburista biss huwa l-unika garanzija li dan il-budget jista’ jitwettaq. Joseph delivers.

Jiġifieri Joseph Muscat jaqbel li min jaqla’ mhux ħażin titnaqqaslu it-taxxa minn 35% għal 25%. Fl-istess waqt min hu bil-paga minima jħallas it-taxxa fuq id-dħul. Ovvjament min kien qed jaħseb li Joseph hu favur il-batut aħjar jerġa’ jaħsibha sewwa għax il-voti (jaħseb Joseph) mhux min hemm iridu jiġu.

L-aqwa li jgħid li hu progressiv. Imma fl-istess ħin hu kontra li tiżdied il-paga minima. Fl-istess ħin ma jaqbilx mal-proposta tal-GWU li biex min jaqlagħha u jiekolha jbati inqas, iż-żieda għall-għoli tal-ħajja tingħata kull sitt xhur mhux kull sena kif tingħata issa. Joseph il-progressiv ma jaqbilx ma dan.

Wanted: a progressive incomes policy

The budget to be presented next Wednesday should revisit Malta’s incomes policy such that the difficulties faced by low income households is addressed.

The minimum wage should be increased in line with the findings of the Caritas Report published in March this year. This report entitled “A Minimum budget for a decent living” had focused on three low income household categories and concluded that it is necessary to uplift the statutory minimum wage from €158.11 to €180 per week of 40 hours. It is unfortunate that both the PN and Labour are deadset against this proposal.

Alternattiva Demokratika  realises the importance of such a proposal in assisting those having a low income to make ends meet and has repeatedly encouraged its implementation.

Another proposal on incomes policy is on the table. The General Workers’ Union has proposed that Cost of Living wage adjustments should be made every 6 months. Implementing this proposal would provide a realistic and timely compensation to those at the lower end of the social ladder.

Its about time that these proposals are seriously considered by government in its budget proposals.

originally published in di-ve.com, Friday 23rd November 2012

Power without responsibility

In a memorandum to political parties the Malta Employers’ Association has proposed that Malta should introduce the possibility to appoint technocrats to Parliament and to Cabinet.

Parliament is a representative body. In democratic societies Membership of Parliament is the result of being voted into office. There is no role for unelected technocrats in Parliament in a democracy. Technocrats can always contest elections and if elected they will form part of Parliament as of right.

The appointment of technocrats to Cabinet on the other hand would mean giving powers to unaccountable Ministers, if these have not been previously elected as Members of Parliament!

We have had a “technocrat in Cabinet” for a number of years, Richard Cachia Caruana!  In Malta it is the best example one can find of the use of political power without the shouldering of political responsibility. His Excellency undoubtedly exercised political power, even if unofficially, without submitting himself to the electorate’s consideration. He always preferred to remain in the shadows. His role is well known right up to his being removed by Parliament last summer.

Earlier during the 70s we had “technocrats” from the General Workers Union (GWU) who formed part of Cabinet. They participated in Cabinet meetings in view of the then fusion between the Labour Party and the GWU. They had no executive discretion but their participation in Cabinet meetings had some influence on decisions taken.

The appointment of unelected technocrats in a position whereby they exercise political discretion  is a proposal which is alien to the Maltese political system and would take Malta back to when the British Governor, generally a retired senior military person representing the colonial power, used to appoint a number of Maltese experts (including some bootlickers) to advise him, sometimes granting them executive powers in a so called Council of Government.

As rightly said by the FORUM of Maltese Trade Unions, the Malta Employers’ Association proposal is dangerous as if it is taken up it would reduce further the accountability of Cabinet.  Parliament is already very weak in that it has not been capable throughout the years to hold government to account. The proposal to introduce unelected technocrats in Cabinet would further weaken Parliament as it would allocate power without the corresponding responsibility.

Some may argue that technocrats would be neutral politically as they would not be subject to electoral pressures. This is incorrect as technocrats have their own political allegiances, their own political agendas and their own views of society.  Nothing wrong with that, accept that not being subject to the electorate is compounded with Malta’s weak Parliamentary set-up. Malta’s Parliament is a weakling which has very rarely been capable of scrutinising Cabinet’s operations effectively.

On TVam earlier this week Joe Farrugia of the Malta Employers’ Association stated that he was negatively impressed by the operation of Parliament in the past weeks. If a number of MPs are mediocre Joe Farrugia should address his concerns to the PN and the PL and ask them to select more appropriate parliamentary candidates!

Political power should be accompanied by accountability. Technocratic government as suggested by the Malta Employer’s Association would be a step backwards in the political development of this country.

published on di-ve.com on 2 November 2012

Also on this blog : RCC kien uffiċjal politiku. 

Ir-referendum dwar id-divorzju : Riflessjonijiet (3) Koabitazzjoni

28% tal-elettorat ma għamilx użu mill-vot.

Kont nippreferi li kieku ivvutaw iktar nies għax nemmen fil-vot bħala l-ikbar għodda għall-bidla mill-qiegħ li dan il-pajjiż għad għandu bżonn. Imma qatt ma jiena ser nasal biex ngħid li min ma vvutax kien irresponsabbli kif għamel Mons Anton Gouder.

Meta nipprova nifhem għaliex in-nies ma vvutatx insaħħah il-fehma tiegħi.

Dawk li ma ivvutawx  jidher li prinċipalment għamlu hekk għax ħassewhom mhedda mill-Knisja u mill-aġenti tagħha, dawk tal-LE. It-theddid dwar id-dnub, it-tqarbin lill-anzjani, insulti dwar briganti u ilpup liebsin ta’ nagħaġ.

Sfortunatament il-Knisja f’Malta wasslet il-messaġġ li m’hiex kapaċi tikkoeżisti ma min għandu opinjoni differenti. Wasslet il-messaġġ li hi interessata biss f’sitwazjoni fejn tiddomina u tiddetta. Trid li l-valuri li tmexxi l-quddiem is-soċjeta jkunu esklussivament dawk li tapprova hi. Għadha Knisja tal-poter li tippretendi li tordna u tbezza’.  Messaġġ li l-iktar ħareg ċar bil-mod kif  ġieb ruħu l-Vigarju Ġudizzjarju Mons Arthur Said Pullicino: l-ewwel bil-prietka lill-avukati, l-maġistrati u l-imħalfin  fejn ħeġġiġhom li għandhom ikunu minn ta’ l-ewwel li jinvokaw l-oġġezzjoni tal-kuxjenza . Wara kompla bid-deċiżjoni li ċ-Chairman  tal-Moviment IVA  l-Avukat  Deborah Schembri  ma tistax tipprattika fit-Tribunali Ekklesjastiċi.

Il-vot tar-referendum ifisser ukoll vot kontra l-poter temporali tal-Knisja f’Malta. Poter li de facto l-Gvernijiet ta’ Fenech Adami u Gonzi fittxew li jindukraw. Għax bħalma fis-snin 70 u 80 kellna l-Gvern Laburista u l-General Workers Union li kienu miżżewġin (u spiċċaw bid-divorzju fl-1992), illum il-ġurnata għandna l-Gvern  Nazzjonalista u l-Kurja li jagħtu l-impressjoni li qed jikkoabitaw.