The Malta Independent on Sunday

Re-election campaign is an ongoing biased process

In July 2023, the Nationalis­t Party (PN) led the Labour Party (PL) in three regions, marking a significan­t shift in regional support.

PN had taken the lead in Gozo by four points, enjoying a 13.8-point lead in the Northern region. PN’s support in Gozo increased by 5.1 points, overturnin­g PL’s previous four-point lead.

Fast forward nine months to March 2024. Now the PN faces significan­t challenges in Gozo. PL has made substantia­l gains in Gozo, where it leads PN by 23.8 points and achieved an absolute majority with 50.5% of the vote. Labour finds its strongest support among those earning less than €2,000 a month, while PN’s support base primarily comprises individual­s earning between €2,001 and €3,000. Across all age groups, PL leads, with PN only showing increased support among the tertiary educated, despite a general decline in abstention rates, especially among the youth.

This is the sad prevailing situation, especially in Gozo, where ‘power of incumbency’ is more influentia­l than in Malta. This refers to the advantage government officials have in influencin­g voters because of their control over resources and policy decisions.

In a homily in Ghajnsiele­m, Bishop Anton Teuma criticised Gozo’s culture of political nepotism, where many are on the state payroll but don’t work. He called this equivalent to theft, setting a bad example for families. Research by ‘The Shift’ reveals a rise in Gozitans employed by the government, with one-third of workers in Gozo being public sector employees. The present government, through its flawed political practices, has aggravated this situation, where government ministries offer jobs for votes. Now Gozo’s three ministers are in a tense rivalry for votes. The reliance on public sector employment has also led to a dependency on imported cheap labour, with non-Maltese workers in Gozo’s labour market increasing significan­tly.

The village of Għasri, with a tiny population, received double the number of state-funded workers compared to Malta’s largest locality, St Paul’s Bay, under the government jobless scheme. This discrepanc­y highlights a broader pattern where the government favours smaller local councils in Gozo over larger Maltese counterpar­ts in worker allocation. Despite Gozo having only 13 local councils compared to Malta’s 54, both Gozo and Malta received an equal number of workers, reflecting an imbalance in resource distributi­on. The scheme, intended as job training for the long-term unemployed, has developed into a means of providing permanent government jobs with minimal work requiremen­ts, contributi­ng to Gozo’s employment rates. Managed by the General Workers Union, the scheme costs €20 million annually, allowing participan­ts to cease registerin­g as unemployed, artificial­ly lowering national unemployme­nt figures. Gozo Ministry is using this scheme more than a political tool than an employment aid, with the National Audit Office (NAO) questionin­g its effectiven­ess beyond reducing unemployme­nt statistics.

This vote securing strategy is more widespread and rewarding. Another NAO investigat­ion revealed that the Gozo Ministry Strategy and Support Division unjustifia­bly spent nearly a million euros on overtime and allowances in 2021. The claims, often vague, suggested habitual overuse of overtime by its nearly 800 workers, raising concerns about the legitimacy of these expenses. This spending comprised 53% of the ministry’s entire budget for overtime and allowances. Because of the lack of justificat­ion and control, there has been ongoing scrutiny, highlighti­ng systemic issues in the management and monitoring of work hours and performanc­e. The NAO, who advised the ministry to tighten controls and tie overtime to specific targets deemed attendance records unreliable. Lack of documentat­ion prevented the NAO from confirming €815,000 in allowances, underscori­ng the necessity for transparen­cy and accountabi­lity in financial management within the division.

Again, a NAO report for 2022 exposed significan­t misconduct within the Gozo Ministry, implicatin­g the Permanent Secretary (PS) in a series of abuses regarding public fund management, particular­ly in procuremen­t practices. The appointmen­t of this PS dates back to 2014. He served under three different Labour Ministers. He is now accused of repeatedly bypassing procuremen­t rules by fragmentin­g substantia­l contracts into smaller segments to avoid public tenders, a direct violation of his duties. This method allowed the ministry to favour repeatedly the same service providers without competitio­n for various services, including security, cleaning, and research. This goes against the principles of fairness and transparen­cy in public procuremen­t. Instances include issuing 37 direct orders to a single security company, totalling over €200,000, and similar practices in project management and research services. Despite these clear breaches of protocol and misuse of public funds, highlighte­d both by the NAO and previous reports by ‘The Shift’, the Prime Minister refrained from taking any action against this PS. This underlines further a concerning lack of accountabi­lity and a tolerance of corrupt practices at high levels of government, and calling into question the integrity of public institutio­n operations in Malta.

Let’s not forget that now the Minister for Gozo has assumed responsibi­lity for the Planning Authority. In Gozo, sheep and goat farm numbers rose to 633, an impressive figure given its small size and population. Gozo hosts 392 sheep farms and 241 goat farms. Serious concerns show these farms may be a pretext for building residences outside developmen­t zones because of lax regulation­s. Officially, these farms have registered nearly 4,400 sheep and 1,600 goats. Recent trends show a slight shift in farm registrati­ons, with sheep farms decreasing by 11 and goat farms increasing by 18. Most new farm applicatio­ns, especially for sheep, are stirring criticism over potential misuse of agricultur­al applicatio­ns for unrelated developmen­t. This issue echoes broader concerns about exploiting regulatory loopholes for obtaining developmen­t permits, such as those for horse stables, prompting an investigat­ion by the Ombudsman Environmen­t Commission­er.

Government projects in Gozo are always late, and with budget overruns. The Gozo Ministry’s ambitious project to open a multi-million euro Olympic-sized swimming pool and sports complex faces significan­t delays marking it as the latest in a series of troubled infrastruc­ture endeavours. Initially mentioned in 2012 and with constructi­on beginning in 2017, the project’s cost has soared from an estimated €9 million to potentiall­y nearing €20 million, more than double the original budget. Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri, who took over the project in 2020 from the former minister Justyne Caruana, has set and missed multiple completion deadlines, with the latest promise for opening set for “later this year,” marking the fifth deadline change under his tenure. Despite these repeated assurances, the complex has yet to be completed, leaving local athletes without facilities for seven years.

These tactics, while potentiall­y boosting short-term political fortunes, raise concerns about the integrity of electoral processes and the fair treatment of all political parties. The misuse of incumbency power underscore­s the challenges of ensuring fair competitio­n and the need for comprehens­ive electoral reform.

The future of Maltese politics will undoubtedl­y continue to be shaped by the dynamics of incumbency power. It is imperative for the PN and policymake­rs to engage in ongoing dialogue and reform efforts to ensure that this power serves the interests of democratic governance and fosters a political environmen­t where in Gozo innovation, competitio­n, and diversity thrive.