Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1022495
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 SEPTEMBER 2018 3 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA THE parliamentary secretary for EU funds has admitted to encountering recruitment problems in a bid to speed up the process to disburse Euro- pean Union cash to Maltese farmers. The delays were brought up in comments by the PN can- didate for MEP, Peter Agius – a spokesperson of Euro- pean Parliament president Antonio Tajani – who said farmers had been prevented from making timely invest- ments without the EU funds, due to outdated quotations from suppliers to commence works on their farms. But the parliamentary sec- retariat has said it has now made it possible for farmers to get any spending on invest- ments prior to the approval of their funding applications, reimbursed. "With full employment situ- ation, there are challenges to recruit and retain good talent in such an environ- ment. Staffing the Managing Authorities dealing with EU funds is not immune to this reality," parliamentary secre- tary Aaron Farrugia told Mal- taToday. "Late last year we finalised a much more attractive finan- cial package for employees in this area, both to retain the current workforce and to in- crease the headcount to ideal levels." Farrugia also said his sec- retariat had set up another Project Selection Committee dedicated to the EU's €130 million funding for farmers, farms and rural SMEs. "The two selection committees are meeting on a regular basis to adjudicate as expeditiously as possible the applications, tak- ing into account the quality of the submissions received and ensuring good governance at all times," Farrugia said. It is also possible for farm- ers to claim reimbursement of expenditure incurred on investments prior to receiv- ing approval for their appli- cation, provided that the ex- penditure is deemed eligible for support. "These initiatives are having the desired impact in facili- tating the adjudication and funding processes. We have now signed agreements for investments under the Ru- ral Development Programme with numerous beneficiar- ies, including farmers, Lo- cal Councils, Local Action Groups (LAGs), Government authorities and agencies. Al- though there will be chal- lenges ahead we remain posi- tive and envisage that this positive trend will continue in future." Agius last week called out on the Maltese authorities for delaying payments to farmers from EU funds, denying them of important capital spend- ing grants. He said some 100 Maltese farmers who applied for €10 million in grants were still waiting for the payments to be made. "There are over 100 Mal- tese farmers waiting to start works… they have quotations in hand, they have arranged for builders to start works on site, and other preparations. And yet they can do nothing of the sort because they have not received any reply on their applications for grants – 18 months from when the call for grants was made," Agius told MaltaToday. Maltese farmers filed their applications in January 2017. Agius said that an under- resourced Managing Author- ity, which processes the funds for the ministry for European Affairs and the parliamentary secretariat for EU funds, was not processing the grants fast enough. "It is down to administra- tive shortcomings that these farmers are still waiting to finalise the contract for these funds… there are not enough resources dedicated to this office to process these appli- cations. It really shows that farming is not a priority for the Maltese authorities. It is clear Maltese farming is only secondary to such sectors as gaming, financial services and construction," Agius said. The total fund for the ru- ral development programme is of €130 million, which is partly funded by the Maltese government – in total €32 million is spent from Maltese resources, with the rest being funded by the EU. Only €5 million has been disbursed so far, according to data from the monitoring committee. Farmers to get reimbursed over EU fund delays The blind man was reportedly threatened with being stabbed by a woman when he asked to sit in the disabled seating of a bus CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 According to Gaspare's daughter, Marouska, due to his impaired vision and age, Gaspare can't remain stand- ing up on the bus as he would lose his balance as the bus ac- celerates and brakes. Marouska took to Facebook to vent her anger at the way her father was treated, with many appalled by the behav- iour. In her Facebook post, she said the mother proceeded to argue with elderly couple and disputed that the seating was also allocated for pushchairs. The argument heated up, and the mother proceeded to assault Gaspare, punching him in the face. "My wife tried to shelter me from her punches and I did the best I could with my walk- ing stick, but I still couldn't completely defend myself," Gaspare said. The argument continued to escalate with the mother shouting at the couple that she would "pluck his eyes out and throw them out of the window". "She even said that if she had a knife in her hand, she would stab me in my stomach," Gas- pare claimed. The father of the children who was witnessing every- thing playing out, proceeded to shout at the elderly man's face, and even banged on the window behind his head, be- fore being dragged away by an onlooker, Gaspare recalled. The enraged couple also took photos of Gaspare and his wife, with the mother threat- ening them that they couldn't do anything as she had rela- tives in the police force. The bus driver reportedly did not intervene during the altercation. The elderly couple issued an official police complaint. When contacted by the newspaper regarding the steps and procedure the driver must undertake in such a situ- ation, no 'Tal-Linja' official was available. Maria, Gaspare's wife, told MaltaToday that she's now scared to go on public trans- port. She said that she has already started to learn how to drive, aged 64, and this incident has only made her want to learn more so she wouldn't have to use public transport. Malta Public Transport reacts In a statement issued last evening, Malta Pub- lic Transport said it was in touch with the visually- impaired passenger. The company expressed its solidarity with him and his family and said it would be providing the police with all the information available in order to assist them in their investigations. Malta Public Transport assisting police in investigations