The Sadim touch

The Malta Independent

Sadim touch

Midas turned everything he touched into gold. A person with flair, ability and acumen to add value to his endeavours and brings success wherever he goes is often referred to as having the Midas touch.

The antithesis is someone who brings disaster and destruction wherever he goes. Whatever he touches is turned into raw lead. I would refer to such a person as having the Sadim touch.

Labour governments over the 70`s had the Midas touch. `They built organisations which started pumping revenues into the national coffers from activities which hitherto where conducted by foreigners and the profits there from used to escape the national economy.

The famous `ahleb Guz` became a quotable quote. Enemalta, Telemalta, Air Malta, Gozo Channel, Medigrain and others all generated commercials gains which were passed on to the national exchequer to finance the central government`s expenditure without having to revert to excessive borrowing.

Many of these organisations were and still are monopolies or quasi monopolies. There are of course strong economic arguments against the fostering of monopolies but the reality of the local market is what it is. Given its small size monopolies are natural and for certain activities there is no breadth and depth in the market to allow healthy competition.

So where a monopoly is dictated by the size of the market there are strong arguments for the monopoly suppliers to be kept in public ownership to ensure that monopoly profits remain in public domain and the monopoly supplier remains accountable to the general public.

But the Sadim touch of the PN government has done the impossible,. It has turned public organisations rendering monopoly services from cash cows to cash drainers. Instead of administering monopolies for the general well being of the public they administered them for their own political self interest.` One organisation after another are reporting losses and are augmenting their demands for public financial support. `Ahleb Guz` has lost its meaning and became `Erda Gann`.

Enemalta is returning losses. How a monopoly provider of energy can run operating losses just baffles me, except that political convenience demands that profits on sale of petroleum products` subsidise politically sensitive electricity and water rates.` Freeport is challenging Malta Drydocks for the top post in claimants list of public subsidies and with the loss of its major client, the Grand Alliance, to Gioia Tauro,` Freeport is clearly losing the international game in transhipment and feeder services opening the prospect for more and more demands on public subsidies. Water Services is a regular client for public subsidies. Air Malta is losing its shirt and will soon join the queue. Maltapost has been partly privatised as the commercial profits left behind by the Labour team was given the Sadim touch and turned into a loss even though the rebate to government on the rates it pays for postal services was removed.

And now the news is out that Gozo Channel is also reporting mounting operating losses even though they are operating the new vessels without incurring any charge for their lease/depreciation and without carrying the substantial financial cost of such vessels, which again is coming out as a subsidy from the public budget.

Beware the Sadim touch ` it could burn your pocket!