Shame on all of them

I wrote a piece in 2005 about the former magistrate, who, I have no problem saying, was not fit for purpose then, and is not now.

From MaltaToday, 2005

"Magistrate Dennis Montebello I know. No, do not get me wrong. Years ago in 1991 I revealed how he had built without planning permits at Mgarr ix-Xini.

I recounted how the Gozitan Police had taken action against illegal huts at Mgarr ix-Xini but not against Montebello. Montebello was one of the magistrates assigned to Gozo. I also described how Magistrate Carol Peralta was involved indirectly in a glass-blowing factory without a relevant factory licence in Gharb.

Now, Carol and Dennis are more than good friends. I also wrote that Carol was a freemason. Then some Gharb residents filed judicial procedures against Gozo glass and the case appeared, in front of Dennis Montebello. Well, such is life.

Then the story I wrote about the magistrates was condemned by Anton Refalo, a Gozitan Labour MP, and the body of magistrates. Years later I refused to pay a Lm5 fine for having blocked His Excellency Richard Cachia Caruana, who of course insisted on driving into Ta' Cenc Hotel in Gozo. Magistrate Peralta converted the fine to one day in prison. On Wednesday Magistrate Montebello decided that MaltaToday had libelled Louis Buhagiar, a former Labour MP, and meted out the largest fine ever in the history of the Maltese press laws - Lm4,000."

There is much more I can say about Dennis Montebello, including about his love of the good life. Bully for him. But that is not the point.

He has been appointed to a consultative committee which traditionally has created big problems for building permits. In the past the committee was led by 'heritage' aficionados who would block bona fide applications on narrow-minded criteria.

It is true they needed a culture change but not like this.

Dennis Montebello is not narrow-minded. He knows something about 'speculators and development.'

And he is someone I would not trust in this committee.

It is a bloody shame.

Since I first put pen to paper, I have fought the choice of functionaries based not on their competence or aptitude but on their party allegiances.

And the Labour party has just done this.

They have copied the mediocrity the Nationalist government implemented when appointing boards - the same mediocrity that existed before 1987 and before that as well.

I cannot understand why this has happened when there has been such an emphasis on competence.

But back to MEPA.

It is obvious that speculators such as Sandro Chetcuti want a MEPA which is more lax and one that bends over to the developers' lobby.

Together on the culture committee with Dennis Montebello, one can also find Joe Zrinzo, the former Eurosceptic and Nationalist who suddenly turned into a rabid socialist.

The Nationalists are simply not in a position to preach or point the finger at anyone. 

If you look at the parliamentary questions which never saw the light of the day, you are shocked at the direct orders dished out to the party faithful. Direct orders to individuals who literally could not have spent so many man-hours on the job.

In 2012, one marketing agency, in a clear conflict of interest with respect to the chairman at MaltaEnterprise, got awarded €100,000 for one job. An advertising agency very close to the administration got €99,000 for design work, and an architectural firm got €413,000 for a project that hardly got off the ground. All, by the way, came from direct orders in 2012.

I think I should just publish the names, and to hell with it.

Will this repeat itself under the new administration? Well it seems rather inevitable. But instead of blue-leaning companies or individuals, we should expect red-leaning ones.

How sick.

I am also shocked by the extravagant audit fees charged by Ernst & Young, KPMG and PriceWaterhouse. Exorbitant and absurd fees for reports that most of the time are only concluded to gather dust.

Then there were the supermen, loved and adored by the PN, such as David Spiteri Gingell, who, incredibly, prepared reports about everything from IT to birds. And his direct orders in 2012 varied from €87,000 to €14,000. A complete breakdown of his earnings would be interesting.

There was no shame in dispensing direct orders or the choice of certain people versus others.

What will change now?

Nothing, I am afraid.

No matter what everyone says, I am getting more enamoured with the likes of Beppe Grillo.

And if you think this is a passing thought, read this, sent to me by a friend (who does not happen to be a Nationalist).

"The continuous rise in life longevity of the population has considerably increased the number of seniors in our society. This results in a further need of institutions capable to cater for old people not being able to live on their own or who could not be hosted by relatives. Special homes have been created for seniors requiring special care, as for example St Vincent de Paul Hospital is providing for people with dementia. One would have thought that a change of government would not affect the running of government hospitals and old people's homes. Unfortunately, the reality is quite different. Taking as an example St Vincent de Paul hospital, the ward hosting seniors with dementia was a state of the art place, operated by caring nurses in a very bright, well-lit modern environment.

The patients were taken out of their beds early morning and spent their days in the ward, having a few outside activities during the week. They were under good medical care and had a balanced diet. The change of government also got changes in the ward. Suddenly people of the dementia ward were transferred to other wards, and their life environment (or what is left of it) has totally changed: while they were used to spending their daytime outside of their beds, dressed, now they find themselves confined to their beds.

Their menu became unbalanced, and nurses were replaced by other nurses. It is depressing visiting at 6pm and finding all the old people in their beds, some of them sleeping, vegetating, waiting for the next day or for paradise.

One feels filled with anger and frustration seeing these people, who spent their lives building this society and raising their children, often under hardship but with love, ending in these wards, abandoned by society and government. The society's duty towards them is to provide them with space and care, allowing them to age in dignity and not being considered as a financial and human burden. Despite their age, one still could listen to their told experiences, and they still contribute to our society despite their condition and age. They still provide the younger generation with work in their old people's homes, for nurses, doctors, cleaners, chefs... We should not accept that a change of government degrades the living conditions of our older generation, and we should make sure that they can age in dignity. One day, we will be in their situation."