His own man | Jesmond Mugliett

“I am my own man, and I certainly refute any label of dissident or disgruntled MP.”

It is a mantra Jesmond Mugliett repeats throughout his first formal interview in two years, since being excluded from Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s Cabinet in 2008.

“I certainly was not bitter at not being appointed, because I actually saw it coming during the electoral campaign that year,” Mugliett says. “He (Gonzi) is the Prime Minister, and it is his decision. All I say is that when I was needed, I was there, I gave all my energy to support him in my capacity as Minister and will continue to give my sincere and positive contribution as an MP from the backbenches.”

 But Mugliett is cautious and mulls over every single word he says. He refuses to come across as a spoilt politician who expects to cling to the ministerial power.

He was the first to admit to the press soon after the 2008 general elections, that he was informed he would not be re-appointed as minister through a text message sent to him by Lawrence Gonzi.  In this regard, Mugliett hits out at “certain journalists close to government” who “conveniently” label him as “disgruntled.” 

“I am not disgruntled, but perhaps frustrated at the fact that as a former Minister on the backbench, myself and a number of other MP’s in the same situation were simply forgotten. There are a hundred ways how we could have contributed more.”

 “My rapport with Lawrence Gonzi as Prime Minister and party leader was very good, and I always gave him my full support and loyalty,” he says, but did it change since 2008?

“I don’t say that I have a problem to speak to the Prime Minister but obviously, not being within the inner circle like when I was Minister, there tends to be a difference. But when I asked to see him, he was always forthcoming…”

But in the two years since the election, there have been sporadic instances when Jesmond Mugliett would stand up in parliament and make some serious statements.

While maintaining media silence, Jesmond Mugliett would be vociferous within the parliamentary group, voicing his concerns at the impact of certain decisions taken by government.

“I speak my mind, and this is why I am my own man. I remain the same person, but simply doing things differently,” he says, adding that his concerns are merged with the responsibilities he shoulders as an MP.

“I am elected as a Nationalist party MP, and I represent people who voted for me. I am their voice in parliament, and I must honour their trust in me,” he says.

While he would privately criticise the way certain governmental decisions would be taken concerning capital projects – given that he was previously responsible for urban development and roads – Jesmond Mugliett stood out as a seasoned MP who found no problem in standing up and repeatedly asking questions about the ‘black dust’ problem which is effecting the south of the island.

“It is not easy to criticise my own government, but I criticise in the best interest of my government, my party and my constituents,” Mugliett explains, admitting that it is some may find such stands difficult to understand, since he may be perceived as going against the current. But he argues that occasionally, toeing the party line would be far more damaging to the party in government.

“When I had spoken about the ‘black dust’ problem in Parliament for the first time, it was not just this problem which was being discussed,  but also the smell of fumes at Spencer Hill, Marsa, and the monitoring of effluent from the Delimara Power Station,” he points out.  “I spoke up because I could note a lack of urgency at solving these problems.  For example, I thought the black dust sampling exercise conducted by MEPA was not rigorous enough.”

One instance where his behaviour raised eyebrows was when he stood up in parliament and ‘invited’ MEPA to send their experts to his back garden and collect samples of the black dust.  Mugliett insists he was only mirroring his constituents concerns. In so doing he made some interesting discoveries.  One of his own parliamentary questions had revealed that the precipitators at the Marsa Power Station had been switched off for nine months because the contractor disposing of the fly ash was not following the procedures established.

“It had really struck me that MEPA was not aware (or simply powerless) that these precipitators had been switched off for months.”

The pressure put up by Mugliett has led the Prime Minister to recently set up a cross party parliamentary committee, that is now in the process of looking into the problem.

“I don’t want to be perceived as a thorn in anybody’s side. I just want to do my job as an MP,” he insists. This, he continues, underpin his stand on other major national issues that have dominated and still dominate the sphere of public debate.

Jesmond Mugliett however rejects my suggestion that the party in government may not be in sync with the people. Interestingly, he remarks that “unfortunately, party officials still believe that the people would still make the effort, make sacrifices and follow the party no matter what…”

“Why does party not understand that while its media talks about a positive economy, we have large pockets of people who are finding it very difficult to make ends meet?” Mugliett asks.

Something that changed since Lawrence Gonzi’s election as Prime Minister in 2008, he continues. While Gonzi enjoyed “extremely high standing in the eyes of the people, this has been dented in the way the Government handled the utility tariffs, by certain commitments to revise the tariffs if fuel prices went down to a certain level, and then these commitments were not kept.

“People are facing difficulties and it’s not only about the utility tariffs, but about the hefty increase in the cost of gas and fuel. I dare say that while in 1996 we as a party used to argue the word ‘kapriċċ’ when we spoke about women choosing to go to work, today in 2010 the reality has totally changed, because for a normal married couple with children, the wife has to go to work to make ends meet.”

“There seems to be the attitude of ignoring the reality of the heavy burdens all families are carrying, and I know of cases where concerned fathers and mothers have specifically written personal emails to the Prime Minister to explain the hardships they are facing.”

When arguing about the utility tariffs, Jesmond Mugliett says that he still is not convinced that consumers are not paying for inefficiencies in the entire system. He goes on to question government’s priorities: for instance, the millions of euros and spent on the Valletta City Gate project, among others.

Jesmond Mugliett is not against the project, but questions the fact that a funding mechanism was supposed to be set up a year ago which would have ensured that funds, are not siphoned from local taxes for this project, and to date this mechanism has not yet been set up.

During the recent Budget 2011 estimates debate, Mugliett gave a hard hitting speech, lashing out at his own government at the way Arms Limited and the Smart Meter projects were handled.

‘When I spoke in Parliament during the ARMS debate, I questioned the need to embark on the smart meter projects, which is going to cost the Maltese tax payers about €100 million. The expense of these meters has already been factored into our utility bills. Moreover I questioned the opportunity cost of this project. We are supposed to embark to gas generated power station in five years’ time. We have been told that we have not embarked yet because of the heavy capital outlay needed.  Why embark on the smart meters project, then? Moreover, I am concerned because I am not aware of any serious studies about the necessary infrastructure for gas storage.

“I have taken this issue to heart because it is central to the country’s future, that we have a clean, affordable, and efficient energy generation system, which is not dependent on other countries.”

He denounced the “serious mismanagement and non-performance” of ARMS Limited, mostly in the light of the cost of operations of the company that grew beyond what it was really expected to cost.

“We are all paying a high price for a service that is not being delivered,” Mugliett stressed, adding that it was unacceptable that “nobody accepts any responsibility for the failures.  When I was a Minister, I had been asked to resign when 30m out of 17 km of arterial roads, which had just been completed, subsided. Today, I wonder what the motives behind such calls really were.”

A subsequent outburst followed a recent private meeting Jesmond Mugliett had with the Prime Minister, this time regarding confidentiality clauses in public contracts.

“I see it as totally unacceptable that a public contract is kept secret because of confidentiality clauses, when this concerns a corporation or company (Enemalta or ARMS Ltd) which is operating in a monopoly and in a non-competitive environment.  When such contracts are kept secret they definitely do not safeguard the taxpayers’ interest, but only that of the contractor.  This is why I spoke to the Prime Minister, calling for a clear policy  when (if at all) such confidentiality clauses are needed, and how we could ensure that tenderers would know at the outset of  tendering for governmental contracts that they will not be allowed to impose confidentiality clauses that would eventually hamper transparency.”

“With regards to the Smart Meter contract, I pointed out that if aspects such as what should be delivered, and the level of service of such deliverables, are not known, neither myself as an MP nor anyone else would be able monitor the deliverables and their performance. The Prime Minister saw my point and today, parts of this contract – particularly the scope of works and the level of service document – have been laid on the table of the House.’

During his speech in parliament a month ago, Mugliett made another statement that may have gone unnoticed by many, but certainly not by his own parliamentary group.

He said: “I will be at the forefront to speak up without beating about the bush on good governance and accountability by government, especially where public contracts are concerned, for as long as I will stay in Parliament.”

Was this a threat, I ask?

“Certainly not,” Mugliett replies, adding that “good governance should be the mission of every politician and it has absolutely nothing to do with toeing the party line.”

Moving on, we speak about his colleague MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando who presented a private members’ bill proposing the introduction of divorce in Malta.

“I admit that even I was in the dark about Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando’s move.”

But Mugliett goes on to say that he is surprised at the way Pullicino Orlando is being criticised by “certain factions” within the PN, and explains that it is not fair to say that the move was “unacceptable.” 

“I will not condemn Jeffrey because there is no clear policy statement, document or position within any PN structure that specifically says that the PN is against divorce. As far as I know, the truth is that since I came into the party in 1990, the PN fielded candidates for the general elections and for the European Parliament who expressed clear positions in favour of divorce.”

Last week’s presentation of the new bill jointly with Labour MP Evarist Bartolo, has again raised questions.

“Unfortunately, to some this joint bill may confuse some people and even put my colleague in a bad light with some of the grassroots, but I think it is an interesting evolution, as it removes partisan barriers on issues that should steer a proper debate.”

Asked about his own position on divorce, Mugliett added: “I will make my explicit contribution to this when the time comes.”

As he walks up and down the room mulling over his replies, I ask him one final question: Will you stand again for election?

“I have been very busy these two and a half years, rebuilding my professional practice, investing in my studies, regaining time with my family. I will reply to this in a year’s time, closer to the crunch.  ”