When super-minister Tonio Fenech issued a press release announcing that Alex Tranter would be resigning as chairman of Enemalta, no one really seemed to care or notice. Indeed, most of the media did not even report the event. No one seems to have smelt the strange and acrid aroma of conflict of interest.
Conflicts of interest are of course rather unusual phenomena. Is it a conflict of interest to have a Nationalist Party official as secretary of the Malta Resources Authority, the authority responsible for waving the green flag for an increase in water and electricity tariffs? Of course not! John Bonello, the PN’s international secretary and a legal officer at Alan Camilleri’s Malta Enterprise, would never be influenced by the government’s intention to raise tariffs.
And yet, it is abundantly clear that Alex Tranter, as Enemalta chairman, repeatedly exposed himself to accusations of mismanagement at the corporation; presided over a corporation which issued the highest water and electricity tariffs hike in the Western hemisphere; and finally, was in a position to be privy to information that could have been useful to those companies he was closely associated with.
Though having said that, we have to believe Mr Tranter when he says that, throughout his tenure at Enemalta, he never once discussed Enemalta issues with his directors and bosses. Mr Tranter, unlike the rest of us, is a very upright man.
And very importantly, Mr Tranter never f***ed up when Enemalta entered into a hedging agreement that cost the Maltese taxpayer millions of euros. But then again, Tranter argued that he had nothing to do with the hedging agreement.
He should have left his post a long time ago. In fact he should have never have been appointed at all.
Tranter was Minister Austin Gatt’s choice for Enemalta chairman, and Gatt is renowned for his bizarre selection process. Which, of course, is why Gatt himself is such a popular person.
Even though Tranter, in his other life, is also one of the top executives with Zaren Vassallo, the PN sponsor and millionaire who will be benefiting quite a bit from the extension of the power station at Delimara: a €200 million project where middleman Joe Mizzi (father in law to the son of Joe Pirotta, the PBS editorial chairman) acquired an amazing cut (reportedly €4 million).
The project, by the way, is sponsored by the Maltese taxpayer: so if anyone is wondering what all the fuss is about... well, this is one reason.
The Delimara extension has been correctly labelled as utterly disgraceful by one of the companies involved in the tendering process. But it did not stop here. Tranter was and is linked to a multinational, that could be involved in the installation of solar panels that would feed the national grid, and effectively sell energy to Enemalta: another multi-million euro deal that will leave some people very well off.
All throughout it appears that Tranter, as Enemalta chief, was apparently doubling up with this company. Now it seems someone, somewhere has realised that there is a conflict of interest.
It could have been the PM, Tranter himself, or – rather improbably – Tonio Fenech.
He has now resigned, and it is said that Tonio Fenech quietly suggested that Tranter is suffering from a slight bout of conflict of interest. Or else, it could simply be that Tranter is moving on to greener pastures. Yes, the same Tranter who by the way has stated that he did not have anything to do with the hedging agreement, which left some companies richer than they should be, and the Maltese taxpayer poorer by some €50 million.
Conflict of interest is a rather difficult thing for Tranter or anyone with any grey matter to fathom; more so when one considers that Tonio Fenech retains the Olympic Gold medal for conflicts of interests for his infamous freebie aboard George Fenech’s private jet.
Tranter managed to captain Enemalta when we were happily experiencing nationwide black-outs, and who has had no clear strategy of easing Enemalta out of its financial conundrum. I am impressed.
Tranter has good reason to smile. His position at Enemalta, coupled with those at Vassallo Builders and other companies, have guaranteed a very comfortable remuneration. Good for him. I am happy for people who get to places by virture of their abilities.
And as Mr Tranter continues to smile at his personal finances, Maltese businesses and families continue to battle with their pockets to pay the water and electricity bills that have hit them like a typhoon, reducing their purchasing power and ability to live or operate.
What happened at Delimara did not take place without the blessing of those who run our government at the very top. Austin Gatt, who portrays himself as a man with a mission, is the man responsible for this confusion.
The Prime Minister has recently clipped his wings and removed Enemalta from under his aegis. And of course, he transferred Enemalta to his favourite minister, Tonio Fenech: the man who has failed to impress with his fiscal policies, but who has a natural gift of the gab and is 101% loyal to his PM.
It goes without saying that the Prime Minister, like his predecessor Fenech Adami, is not easily persuaded to lift the lid on the rot in his government. Fenech Adami would never publicly wash any dirty linen, and Gonzi has done the same.
It is evident that Tranter could well have turned out to be an embarrassment. Well, if he is not an embarrassment or does not think that he was an embarrassment, he is definitely, absolutely unsuitable for the post – more so because of his record as Chairman.
Record of service and conflict of interest are anathema to our political class. They cannot understand what it is all about. We have so many incompetent chairmen and so many cases of conflict of interest, that one starts to wonder whether the norm is incompetence and conflict of interest and the exception is competence.
But people like Tranter just know all about the complications of management skills and conflicts of interest. They understand it so perfectly, that when it comes to defending their patch they manage to sound credible.
So when they stand accused, they come up with all sort of silly excuses, as if they were not responsible for the decision-making process in the corporation; or that they were not involved in the day-to-day running of the corporation; or that they were not privy to specific information which was linked to the tender procedures; and that they did take specific decisions when it came to those who won tenders.
I wonder what chairmen do after all. Oh yes, I know: they pose for snapshots and address press conferences.
This trait can be safely described as Tranterism, or the fine art of deflecting criticism when accused of conflicts of interest.
And Tranter has another important asset which should not be ignored. Tranter probably is a decent guy. He looks like it.
He does not have a Pancho Villa moustache like Toni Abela, so that permits him to look more than just acceptable. He has this rather deceptively civilised look, like Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi of the Labour Party, who, by George, never gets tackled by the bile brigade or the PN slag machine.
You see, in life it is not what you are that counts. But how you look. Tranter is the perfect gentleman, with the soft-spoken style and manners to ward off any nasty characters who may query his true motives.
As in all things, all discussion about this thorny subject has been sidelined in the media. Instead of Bondì and Azzopardi delving into these real scandals, we have had gate-keeping all the way through.
It now falls to MaltaToday to question and raise issues which are evidently not in the interest of those whose mission is to make millions at the taxpayer’s expense.
And just in case anyone thinks that I am referring to Zaren Vassallo or any other blue-eyed boy, I must declare that I am not referring to anyone in particular. All this hullabaloo about ‘conflict of interest’ is just a figment of my imagination… all these allegations of corruption in the BWSC tender are just a Zionist plot aimed at discrediting Malta’s and Tranter’s image.
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