Il-pjan tal-ministru tal-finanzi Scicluna biex jaqleb il-kontijiet tal-gvern għal sistema li taħdem permezz tal-“accruals” minn waħda msejsa fuq il-ħlas attwali tal-kontijiet pendenti, hu ta’ mi ifaħħru. Kemm jista’ jirnexxi hu ħaġ’oħra.
Ninsab xettiku dwar kemm se taħdem l-idea li l-proġett jiġi fdat lil kumpanija tal-awdituri. Niddubita kemm din tista’ tlaħħaq mal-kumplessità tal-isfida.
Bl-istess mod kont xettiku, bir-raġun, dwar l-idea li kellu l-ministru tal-finanzi Dalli xi ħmistax-il sena ilu, li jpoġġi f’kull ministeru, uffiċjal inkarigat taħt il-ministeru tiegħu biex jirreġistra l-ispiża li tkun qed tiġi attwata mill-gvern. Dik il-proċedura fgat fil-burokrazija li hi stess ħolqot.
Hemm diversi modi kif jinħbew l-impenji ta’ spiża tal-gvern. Biex sistema ta’ “accruals” tirnexxi, irid ikollha tmexxija minn fuq nett tal-gvern; u qabel xejn, insistenza biex kull att jew deċiżjoni li jfisser spiża jkun magħruf u ċentraliżżat f’reġistru wieħed.
Sa fejn naf jien, l-ebda gvern Ewropew m’għad għandu sistema vera ta’ kontabilità bl-“accruals”.
LULA
Bħal ħafna oħrajn, kont nammira bil-kbir lil Lula, President tal-Brażil għal żewġ mandati, li ħareġ mill-klassi tal-ħaddiema u rnexxielu jagħmel ħafna biex itejjeb il-kondizzjoni tan-nies tax-xogħol.
Qiestu bħala mudell brillanti ta’ kif is-soċjaliżmu demokratiku jista’ jkun effettiv mingħajr ma jxerred id-dutrina tal-vjolenza, li tispiċċa tnawwar kull valur uman.
Issa Lula instab ħati ta’ atti ta’ korruzzjoni li mhumiex ċkejkna.
Il-klassi politika kollha tista’ tgħid tal-Brażil tinsab imtebbgħa bl-istess xilja fl-iskandlu enormi li nkixef meta ħarġu fil-beraħ il-maniġġi tal-Petrobras, il-kumpanija Brażiljana nkarigata mit-tiftix għaż-żejt u l-bejgħ tiegħu. Jista’ jkun li Lula wkoll bill subgħajh – anki waqt li kien qed jieħu deċiżjonijiet li ġabu ġustizzja soċjali akbar fil-pajjiż?
Jekk iva, x’wasslu biex jagħmel hekk?
Jekk le, liema huma l-forzi qawwija biżżejjed biex iħammġuh b’dal-mod? Id-dilemma hi ħafna agħar minn meta kien hemm l-armata tikkontrolla l-pajjiż bl-aktar mod selvaġġ. Allura, kulħadd kien jaf fejn jinsab it-“tajjeb”, fejn il-“ħażin” – anke stajt tiġġustifika l-atti tat-“terrorista” Carlos Marighella.
F’dinja globalizzata, iċ-ċertezzi qed idubu.
ŻMIEN
Il-kefrija tal-bidliet li jġib miegħu ż-żmien imgħoddi ġġarrabha b’diversi modi.
Lil Billy Joel ma segwejtu xejn aktar matul is-snin minn meta ħareġ il-“long play” tiegħu 52nd Street. Ma nsejtux – bqajt niftakru, imma niftakru kif jidher fil-qoxra ta’ dak l-album u kif jinstema’ fid-diska.
Għalhekk ħadt xokk narah fuq you tube, ikanta mhux ilu f’kunċerti, kanzunetti bħal “Honesty”. Il-vuċi għadha tajba.
Biss dak Joel?
Xraf sew, bħall-ġenerazzjoni tiegħu u ta’ qablu, bħali u l-ġenerazzjoni tiegħi, minn meta ħareġ 52nd Street.

English Version – Accruals

Finance Minister Scicluna’s plan to convert government accounts from a cash format to one based on accruals is well taken and praiseworthy. Whether it will succeed is another matter.

One feels sceptical about how the idea of subcontracting the project to a private auditing company will work out in practice. The doubt is whether such a company can cope with the complexity of the challenge it faces.

I was similarly sceptical, correctly, when some fifteen years ago, to introduce accrual accounting, then finance minister Dalli launched the idea of placing in every ministry an official from his ministry charged with the task of registering each and every outlay that the government was committing itself to. That procedure was simply choked to death by the bureaucracy it generated.

There are numerous ways by which to fudge government’s spending commitments. For an accruals system to succeed, it needs continuous endorsement from the very top of the government system; and above all, an insistence that all acts and decisions that imply some expenditure, are declared and registed in some central registry.

As far as I know, no European country as of now, is running an accountability system for its finances that is truly based on accruals.

***

Lula

Like many others, I had a huge admiration for Lula, President of Brazil over two mandates. He was working class and was very successful with policies to improve the standards of living of working people.

One could consider his record as a brilliant model of how democratic socialism can be effective without relying on the doctrine of violence, which ends up corroding all human values.

Now Lula has been found guilty of hefty acts of corruption.

Practically all members of Brazil’s political elite have been tainted by the same charge in the enormous scandal that has raged in the country since the operating methods deployed by Petrobras came to light. The company is responsible for oil exploration and marketing.

Could it be that Lula too was on the take, while launching measures that brought about more social justice in the country?

If yes, why did he do it?

If no, what forces are so powerful that they can frame him in this way? The dilemma is trickier than when the army controlled Brazil in the most barbaric manner. Then, everybody could tell the “good” from the “bad”. You could even justify the acts of Carlos Marighella, the “terrorist”.

In a “globalised” world, former certainties are under meltdown.

***

Time

One experiences in different ways the cruel ravages that the passage of time brings with it.

I had not followed at all Billy Joel’s career since the days when his vinyl long play 52nd Street was issued.

He was not forgotten, but in remembrance, he had stayed like he featured on the cover of that album and how he sounded on the record.

So it was a shock to see him on you tube, as he appeared recently in concert, belting ballads like “Honesty”. The voice is still good.

But was that Joel?

He has “matured” greatly, like his generation and the one that preceded it, like myself and my generation, since he first issued 52nd Street.

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