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Non Sequitur #95 Honorarium

From the table of the house comes a random collection of PQs (parliamentary questions) and their answers. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the stuff honoraria are made of. You’ve got to love MP Silvio Parnis’ dedication to the old and aged. It’s the table of your house of reps ladies and gents… it’s where you read about how Malta gave 5,000 € for the maintenance of Auschwitz-Birkenau, that the Hijab is not prohibited on the workplace in government depts and that information is still forthcoming about milking cows and goats.

Here’s a (random) selection:

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Leġislatura XI Kategorija ORAL
Mistoqsija Numru: 22327 Data: 20/12/2010
Seduta: 296 – 10/01/2011 09:00 AM
Seduta Interim:
Titlu: Fond Auschwitz-Birkenau – flus offruti
L-Onorevoli OWEN BONNICI
staqsa lill-Onorevoli TONIO BORG (Viċi Prim Ministru u Ministru tal-Affarijiet Barranin):
Jista’ l-Viċi Prim Ministru u Ministru tal-Affarijiet Barranin jgħid kemm offriet Malta fi flus għall-fond ta’ Auschwitz-Birkenau li twaqqaf biex jiġu mantnuti l-kampijiet oriġinali wara appell tad-direttur tal-mużew Piotr Cywinski?

Tweġiba:
Malta offriet is-somma ta’ € 5,001.50 għall-fond tal-Fondazzjoni Auchwitz-Birkenau. Dan il-pagament tħallas f’ Ġunju 2010.

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Leġislatura XI Kategorija ORAL
Mistoqsija Numru: 22330 Data: 20/12/2010
Seduta: 296 – 10/01/2011 09:00 AM
Seduta Interim:
Titlu: Reliġjon Musulmana fuq il-post tax-xogħol
L-Onorevoli GINO CAUCHI
staqsa lill-Onorevoli LAWRENCE GONZI (Prim Ministru):
Jista’ l-Prim Ministru jgħid jekk hux permess lil persuni nisa, ċittadini Maltin li jħaddnu reliġjon Musulmana, jilbsu l-velu (Hijab) waqt li jkunu fuq il-post tax-xogħol tagħhom f’dipartimenti, aġenziji u kumpaniji tal-gvern?

Tweġiba:
Ninsab infurmat li ma hemm l-ebda regola għall-impjegati tal-gvern li timpedixxi li jintlibes il-velu (Hijab)

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Leġislatura XI Kategorija ORAL
Mistoqsija Numru: 22292 Data: 14/12/2010
Seduta: 296 – 10/01/2011 09:00 AM
Seduta Interim:
Titlu: qligħ ta’ flus minn wiri ta’ films pornografiċi
L-Onorevoli ADRIAN VASSALLO
staqsa lill-Onorevoli CARMELO MIFSUD BONNICI (Ministru tal-Ġustizzja u l-Intern):
Billi l-liġi ta’ Malta tgħid li ħadd ma jista’ jaqla’ flus minn wiri ta’ films pornografiċi, jista’ l-Ministru jgħid għaliex il-Pulizija għadha ma ħadet ebda passi kontra lukandiera u kontra sidien tal-cable tv li qed ixandru u hemm min anke ammetta li qed jikser il-liġi sfaċċatament? Fiex waslu l-investigazzjonijiet tal-Pulizija illum, sitt xhur wara li l-Ministru stess ordnalhom jinvestigaw l-ovvju?

Tweġiba:
Ninsab infurmat illi l-investigazzjonijiet għadhom għaddejjin.

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Leġislatura XI Kategorija ORAL
Mistoqsija Numru: 22248 Data: 07/12/2010
Seduta: 296 – 10/01/2011 09:00 AM
Seduta Interim:
Titlu: investigazzjoni dwar tfiegħ ta’ bajd fuq karozzi u djar
L-Onorevoli EDWIN VASSALLO
staqsa lill-Onorevoli CARMELO MIFSUD BONNICI (Ministru tal-Ġustizzja u l-Intern):
Jista’ l-Ministru jinvestiga permezz tal-Pulizija fl-Għassa tal-Mosta, min kien il-persuna/i li għal darbtejn nhar ta’ Ħadd konsekuttivament għamlu straġi fi Triq Dawret il-Wied, Triq il-Bwieqi u Triq il-Fuħħar żona ta’ Santa Margerita fil-Mosta, fejn dawn il-persuni waddbu mijiet ta’ bajd fuq il-karozzi u mal-faċċata tal-bini fejn għamlu ħsara bi tbajja li jħalli warajh t-tfiegħ tal-istess bajd?

Tweġiba:
Ninsab infurmat illi l-Pulizija, filwaqt li għadha qed tinvestiga l-każ imsemmi mill-Onorevoli Interpellant, qiegħdha tagħmel aktar sorveljanza fl-inħawi msemmija.

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Leġislatura XI Kategorija ORAL
Mistoqsija Numru: 22228 Data: 07/12/2010
Seduta: 295 – 14/12/2010 09:00 AM
Seduta Interim:
Titlu: Sid ta’ Razzett – ngħaġ u baħar tal-ħalib
L-Onorevoli EDWIN VASSALLO
staqsa lill-Onorevoli GEORGE PULLICINO (Ministru għar-Riżorsi u Affarijiet Rurali):
Jista l-Ministru jwieġeb mistoqsija parlamentari 21674 u jgħid jekk huwiex permessibbli li sid ta’ razzett li fih irabbi n-ngħaġ tal-ħalib, ikun jista’ jrabbi ukoll baqra għall-ħalib? Jekk dan mhux permessibbli, jista’ jgħid għaliex dan mhux possibbli?

Tweġiba:
L-informazzjoni għadha qed tinġabar u risposta tingħata f’xi seduta oħra.

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Leġislatura XI Kategorija ORAL
Mistoqsija Numru: 22171 Data: 06/12/2010
Seduta: 295 – 14/12/2010 09:00 AM
Seduta Interim:
Titlu: Riklami fuq il-kuntratti tal-BWSC
L-Onorevoli OWEN BONNICI
staqsa lill-Onorevoli AUSTIN GATT (Ministru għall-Infrastruttura, Trasport u Komunikazzjoni):
Jista’ l-Ministru jgħid kemm swew ir-riklami fil-ġurnali intitolati “the truth prevails BWSC contract“? Fejn dehru? F’liema ġurnali?

Tweġiba:
Ninforma lill-Onor Interpellant li din il-materja ma taqax taħt id-dekasteru tiegħi.

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Leġislatura XI Kategorija ORAL
Mistoqsija Numru: 22122 Data: 02/12/2010
Seduta: 295 – 14/12/2010 09:00 AM
Seduta Interim:
Titlu: Ħsara fit-telephone
L-Onorevoli SILVIO PARNIS
staqsa lill-Onorevoli AUSTIN GATT (Ministru għall-Infrastruttura, Trasport u Komunikazzjoni):
Jista’ l-Ministru jara li jitmexxa l-każ tal-anzjana li rrapportat xi xahar ilu peress li t-telephone tagħha (li dettalji tiegħu qed jingħataw separatament) huwa bil-ħsara?

Tweġiba:
Ninforma lill-Onor. Interpellant li l-materja in kwistjoni ma taqax taħt id-dekasteru tiegħi.

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Leġislatura XI Kategorija ORAL
Mistoqsija Numru: 22094 Data: 01/12/2010
Seduta: 295 – 14/12/2010 09:00 AM
Seduta Interim:
Titlu: każ ta’ post ta’ anzjana
L-Onorevoli SILVIO PARNIS
staqsa lill-Onorevoli DOLORES CRISTINA (Ministru tal-Edukazzjoni, Xogħol u l-Familja):
Tista’ l-Ministru tara l-każ  ta’ anzjana, li d-dettalji tagħha qed jintbagħtu separatament, li din kellha toħroġ minn post 18-il sena ilu, li kellu area kbira u apparti dan l-gvern ta l-post bil-kera u din il-kera għadha titħallas sal-lum, pero’ llum jidher li l-gvern se joffri biss xi  €14.000 għal dan il-post, meta din hija somma li llum lanqas garage ma tixtri biha?

Tweġiba:

Nitlob lill-Onorevoli Interpellant sabiex jagħmel il-Mistoqsija lill-Ministru kkonċernat, f’dan il-każ il-Ministru tal-Finanzi, Ekonomija u Investiment.

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Leġislatura XI Kategorija ORAL
Mistoqsija Numru: 22101 Data: 01/12/2010
Seduta: 294 – 07/12/2010 06:00 PM
Seduta Interim:
Titlu: Qrati Maltin – Kawżi ta’ libell pendenti
L-Onorevoli ĊENSU GALEA
staqsa lill-Onorevoli CARMELO MIFSUD BONNICI (Ministru tal-Ġustizzja u l-Intern):
Jista’ l-Ministru jagħti tagħrif dwar kemm hu n-numru ta’ kawżi ta’ libell li huma pendenti quddiem il-Qrati Maltin u li fihom hemm bħala atturi membri parlamentari? Kemm ilhom pendenti dawn il-kawżi tal-libell quddiem il-Qrati Maltin?

Tweġiba:
Ninsab infurmat illi sat-3 ta’ Diċembru kien hemm 47 kawża ta’ libell pendenti li fihom hemm bħala atturi Membri Parlamentari. Infurmat illi dawn il-kawżi ilhom pendenti kif jidher fit-tabella t’hawn taħt:-

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Us and Them

This cannot be comforting news but it did ring a familiar bell. The Italian region closest to us has an unfortunate reputation among most other people – whether Italian or foreign. For a very long time the word Sicily would conjure up ideas of shopping trips and a quick and cheap escape from the socialist regime of monotonous shelving and bulk buying.

Yesterday’s Rai 1 news carried the item that the economic growth of Sicily has surpassed Lombardy. I am not surprised. Having visited Sicily and divested my brain of the unfortunate stereotypes that I still carried from my youth I could not but agree with the idea that this was a promising region that knew where to go next.

Sicily could not be further away from Malta in terms of planned development and growth. Old maladies notwithstanding , the impression you get is of an eager region ready to pounce on the next opportunity that is offered. Add on the measure of Mediterranean beauty and Italian style and you have a formula that could be a winner.

This bit of news is what remains of the little, sad comparisons we can make with the sister island up north (from Repubblica.it):


Esplode fabbrica di fuochi
due morti nel Catanese
A Santa Venerina, sul posto varie squadre di vigili del fuoco

Due persone sono morte e un’altra è rimasta ferita nell’esplosione avvenuta in una fabbrica di fuochi d’artificio di Santa Venerina, nei pressi di Catania. La deflagrazione, seguita da un incendio, è avvenuta poco dopo le 9.30. Sul posto numerose squadre dei vigili del fuoco, oltre a polizia e carabinieri.

(10 gennaio 2011)

Some things will never change.

Divorce a distraction?

I get the nagging feeling that the whole divorce debate is a welcome distraction for the party in government. Whichever way you look at it, even with the possibility of a watered down divorce law on the horizon in the near future, the PN government is set to gain from what is after all a delayed distraction. By some twenty years. If we could adduce some form of strategy from the single-seat government way of thinking it would be that the divorce debate that was clumsily shifted onto its plate has the main bonus of providing the occasional distraction from the pressing issue of COL (cost of living) in its various guises.

The spice that are priests like Daniel Cordina in Zebbug or politicians like the various JPOs, Bartolos and Musumeci only serves to give the affair the varied colouring of an indian spice stand. At the end of the day there is a sense of inevitability that is wired into the divorce issue itself. It is not a question of “If”, more a question of “when” and a bit of “how”. You can read that sense of urgency into Mike Briguglio’s press conference statement today. It almost sounds like an exercise in tautology: “Decision on divorce needs to be taken“.

You can almost hear the Simpsons‘ Homer yelling :”Duh”. But this is the country where Musumeci can claim to be an “opinionist” and not a “journalist” on his little platform on Smash. Where the same Musumeci can proselytise while trying to be the new “good boy” of the PN clan. Where Muscat can shoot at the government for “playing with the people” without actually offering an alternative solution to the problems at hand. Where politicians like Zammit Lewis can quote their leader on facebook and echo the worry about the poor without budging one inch about the new ideas from the new generation.

Thank God for divorce then (or maybe don’t thank Him, since He does not like it). We’d rather the distraction that exposes the pogguti, the sinful and the pagan. It’s more familiar territory for the Kinnie & Twistees generation brought up in the shadow of Mintoffianism and Eddie’s salvationism. Discuss a program for the economic relaunching of the nation? What the hell? I’d rather discuss the sinful qualities of divorce.

And the PLPN are heading towards the 10th legislature since Independence. In this country thinking different is the norm, and the norm is being divorced from reality.

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Abuse of Dominance

MaltaToday reports Chris Said’s concern over Benna’s price hikes on certain types of milk. In its article MT states that the parliamentary secretary will be asking the competition authority to investigate the rise in prices as“the operator could be enjoying a dominant position in the market.” Now the problem here is that a “dominant position” per se is not at all illegal under competition law. The question of whether Benna has a dominant position in the market for milk or in the sub-market for particular types of milk only comes into play if Benna has in any way “abused” of the dominant position. One would hope that the distinction between the existence of dominance and the abuse thereof is clear in the PS’s mind and that the problem is only in the reporting made by MaltaToday.

Via Salaria

In ancient Rome the Via Salaria linked the Eternal City to the port of Castrum Truentinum, now known as the Port of Ascoli. It was called Salaria because it was the road used by the Sabines to retrieve the precious salt from the mouth of the Tiber. Salt was one of the primary units of payment in ancient Rome – hence the term “salary” from “salarium”.

In modern Malta our parliamentarians do not arrogate themselves a new salary but rather opt to increase their “honorarium”. I doubt whether we have a Via Honoraria running from the new parliament square to the respective centres of the PLPN MPs. In the meantime MPs from both sides perpetuate the pathetic fallacy of “not accepting” the honorarium while insisting on distributing its proceeds according to their wills (if something is not accepted then it is not yours to distribute).

The PN government is now under siege and has resorted to the equivalent of hunting for the mice in the sewers in order to survive. The sudden hike price of commodities from fuel to gas to milk can only serve to exacerbate the unpopularity of a government that seems to have lost the feel of the people’s pulse. Joseph’s Labour might be poised to take advantage of the situation by promising the usual progressive package that protects the weak. The problem lies in the fact that the current economic conditions will not discriminate between conservative intervention or socialist laxity.

Just look at what happened in the UK yesterday. The LibDems and the Tories were both vociferously against any VAT hike while they laboured in opposition. They completed their U-turn yesterday with the announced increase of VAT to 20%. The only saving grace was the fact that essential products (the most cited were bread and nappies) are zero-rated and hence not affected.

So are we to grin and bear the hikes while our salaries plateau over the next few years or are we all to run for parliament in the hope to get a piece of the very special pie that seems to be reserved at the top?

Credit

2011 has begun in the sign of credit and crunches. As I zap through the news channels with a bile infested head the common thread seems to be the fact that there will be no let up to the effects of the credit crunch in this golden year. While the Con-Dem coalition is under fire for its decision to increase VAT to 20% in the UK, Malta’s opposition and its “social partners” are furious at the rise in prices of anything from petrol to milk. We will speak later about the honoraria debate but for now I’d like to share a conundrum about credit card fraud closer to home.

I was trying to review the damage on the various outlets of credit I possess when I noticed that on the 23rd and 24th December of last year some christian soul had availed himself of nigh €1400 in order to travel around the Philippines (hotel and air travel thank you very much). So I called CETELEM who are surrogates for the devil on this earth and informed them that the only archipelago I had visited at Christmas time was Malta. After a visit to every division in the CETELEM belgian offices I finally got some answers from the man in the fraud division. I would only have to sign some papers and the situation would be repristinated.

But. And there is always a but. I have to get a procés verbal from the police. That means I would have to go to a Luxembourg police station and declare that the data relating to my creditcard (and not the credit card) had been misappropriated. I would also have to tell them that I am doing this declaration in order to inconvenience some desk clerk at the office who would have to print out my declaration and authenticate it. Do you see? The police cannot do much about retrieving what has been stolen. The card is still sitting comfortaby in my wallet but the data has been virtually spirited and used elsewhere.

I would have thought the police would have better things to do and I will actually sympathise with any luxembourg policeman who will complain about the absolute waste of time in filling this form. CETELEM is actually inconveniencing myself (I’ve got to go to the station) and the police (they have to fill the form – or at least I hope they will). This is where I prefer the Maltese banks who send an SMS when you perform transactions with your VISA.

Bahh. C’est la vie. Time to have another antiflu pill or whatever.