The government has launched a scheme to find influential friends for foreign nationals who live in Malta but don’t have any connections.
The international expat community has often complained that the only way to get something done in Malta is to have friends in high places.
But for people who haven’t been living here all their lives, these powerful acquaintances can be hard to come by.
The issue was further highlighted today by a French undercover news report, in which two businessmen boasted to journalists about their close ties to Malta’s politicians.
Now the government is attempting to remedy the situation with the Find a Fixer Friend scheme, which will consist of a series of meet-ups for expats and powerful Maltese people to mingle and make friends with each other.
“During the meet-ups, expats will wear labels that state what they want to get done. So for example, they could wear a sticker saying ‘citizenship’, or ‘building permit’, or even something as simple as ‘blocked sink’. They will also be provided with flash cards with ideas for conversation topics,” said Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship Julia Farrugia Portelli.
Farrugia Portelli added that government ministers, together with their employees, friends and relatives both close and distant, would also be wearing similar stickers stating what kind of favours they are able to do.
“I myself will be one of the influential people attending the meet-ups. I can’t wait to befriend a foreigner who’ll then phone me up in the middle of the night asking me if I can get a job for their kid,” she said.
