Mishandling of executive power

Government’s handling of the parliamentary motion for a public inquiry into the tragic death of Jean Paul Sofia showed contempt to the institution itself and parliamentary democracy.

This motion was voted against by government MPs, only to make a U-turn upon mobilising thousands of citizens for a protest. This was not a vigil to recite prayers but an angry crowd protesting at the modus operandi of governance. This was a cry of anger.

Such tactics used by the government show irresponsibility towards the issue of concern and the citizens. One should not play such games in a desperate attempt to avoid the worse.

A public inquiry should have taken place parallel to the magisterial inquiry for its sake is to find what went wrong within the national system that led to such disaster. A building that goes down like a pack of cards is always of national concern. It is not enough to establish the criminal liability but one should ask “why did our national entities responsible of such process whose remit is to safeguards from such bad practices, fail completely?”. Let’s make it clear, public inquiries are as useless in as much as magisterial ones if they are not followed up by prompt action. In this respect the question beckons – Is there the political will to bring about the necessary changes to the modus operandi which is failing us all big time at the expense of innocent souls?

Power failures

The power failures being experienced this summer are exposing Enemalta’s inability to deliver. It is not up to us common citizens to disturb ourselves and go to town to try and establish what went wrong from a technical perspective. Our main concern should be that the ongoing power disruptions  mayhem  is not acceptable in 2023.

Let us not forget the manner in which we were inundated with political rhetoric on investment in power generation and distribution. Yet, the situation on the ground is that every summer matters are degenerating from bad to worse. Is this the quality of life we are aiming for?

While one might not pleased with the miserable ending of the Koi fish, we cannot forget the problems caused to grocers, supermarkets and other supply chain shops around the island. We cannot underestimate the breakdown in appliances and other machinery caused by power surges. Now you can tell Tom, Dick and Harry to use ACs responsibly but do we really believe that with such electrical infrastructure, we are going to attract large scale investments?

It all boils down to:

  • Adopting the right approach towards our economic infrastructure
  • Adopting the good practices approach in whatever we do from a socio-economic perspective
  • Execute the here-and-now plans as part of a long-term plan that embraces well designed planning in the best interest of the country (rather than the selected few)

To do this one needs the peace of mind, a resolute consciousness, and a disciplined approach to do what it is right in the country’s interest. As things stand, government’s credentials to execute seem seriously lacking.