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If there were any moment where the famous Cuba Gooding Junior’s phrase “show me the money!” in the film Jerry Maguire can be perfectly applied, it would be in the case of the infamous declaration of assets or rather of liabilities of our ministers and parliamentary secretaries. This week, once again, they have honoured us with the statement of their accumulation of wealth over the past twelve months – statements which are no more than another slap in our face!
I do not know how many of you have noticed but year by year the assets of these poor people are decreasing, not improving. They tell us that the country is on the right track and that the economy of the country is steadily improving but poor things, they are sacrificing so much for our beloved country that they cannot cope with the cost of living and have to borrow from Tom, Dick and Harry to make ends meet. And I cannot blame them because how can we expect a Minister to survive on a mere salary of Lm14, 000 annually when half of it, or more, goes to presents and invitations?
It is therefore not surprising that poor chaps, every year they go through such a bad patch, but for the love of our country they continue with their job, sacrificing their family and their income. This is the latest buzzword. I do not know how many of you listen to the Sunday morning programme on Radio 101 where it has now become a cliché’ of Michael Falzon’s to bring tears to our eyes when re-reminds us on the every time he has a member of the Cabinet in the studio or on the telephone that his poor guest is working for the country instead of spending the Sunday with his family!
And yet, notwithstanding their meager salary, their long hours of work and the accumulation of debts throughout the year, these people continue to stay in office and want us to consider them as our heroes. To be honest with you, I find it very hard to digest that somebody can work for less for a constant period of time and at the same time show a constant enthusiasm for the job over and over again. We are all humans and when you work for charity you tend to do it for free for some time but not all the time. But with our politicians their endless love for our beloved country is something that has always dazzled me.
There is no doubt that the recession hit our parliamentarians before it hit the country. Year after year they remind us of how much debt they are accumulating. Even the Prime Minister has suffered loss in his bank deposits. At the same time it is also comforting to note that even their salary does not suffice to make ends meet. At least, we are not the only ones who struggle every month to pay our credit cards and overdrafts and bank loans and bills. They are with us in this struggle but with a difference: we tend to be more careful and ‘bil-ghaqal’ than they are. We do not borrow more unless we settle what we need to settle because let us put it this way, the banks will not allow us even if we wish it.
It is not the case, however, with the declaration of assets of the ministers. They who are entrusted with the good governance of our country, they tend to borrow more and more year after year. It is also seems that they have no faith in our financial institutions - one of them has given on loan to his daughter Lm120,000 and has an overdraft facility of Lm300,000 and this against a declared income of Lm39,000.
Poor Minister Pullicino only gets a meager retainer of Lm800 yearly from his firm of architects. Even Minister Mugliett earns a mere Lm4,000 annually from the reputedly successful firm of architects Sant & Mugliett. I am so sorry for their wife and children for having a father who resigns himself for miserable retainers.
One thing that is very conspicuous in their declarations of assets - or as they have rendered them declarations of liabilities - is the fact that they no longer mention all the immovable property in their possession, the funds they have invested and the value of their shares in the companies they are involved with. I remember that in the past I used to see declarations listing - one by one - all the property they own and now most of them just make a declaration that they own some property and stop there. You and I live in Malta and we all know one another and it is a pity that we cannot prove the persistent rumours that go around about the business ventures of some of these ministers.
It is not the first time that we notice how the lifestyles of certain people who surround them changes overnight. I am actually surprised how the Commissioner of Inland Revenue remains idle in all of this. I was also very surprised to learn from the declaration that Minister Giovanna Debono has so little property in her hands.
Who knows how many of you know of ministers who are involved in this and that deal but you have to keep your mouth shut because you either do not have sufficient evidence or you are afraid of victimisation. Victimisation is a big curse in our country – whistle blowing is still considered a vice and not a virtue. I augur that the Commissioner of Inland Revenue takes the declaration of the assets of our ministers as seriously as he takes our income tax declarations – there are a few calculations which he has to make and which will reward him with some surprises.
Moreover, may I also kindly beg the Commissioner to stop sending assessments which date back to centuries ago when he knows that the recent amendment in the law is still subject to an appeal before the Civil Court. This democratic government, in order to make up for its inefficiency, this year amended the law so that the Commissioner can send bills for income tax assessments dated twenty, thirty years ago. So my dear beloved readers, do not pay tax that is in arrears of more than eight years for the time being and challenge any bill that you receive and that is older than eight years before the Board of Special Commissioner because that law which was passed by Parliament lately is an ass.
So shame on us who have branded our beloved ministers as making money while in office – their declarations prove that they are in dire straits indeed. Maybe it is now about time that even their spouses and their children publish the declaration of their assets!
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