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18 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 DECEMBER 2018 24 December 2008 Dalli slams 'generosity' with government consultants LABOUR'S main spokesperson for the public sector and public investments Helena Dalli said the latest report by the Auditor-General confirmed that the government was being wasteful with public money, especially in the engagement of its consultants. Dalli said it was shameful to see that in sectors of the public sector, government did not find it shameful to spend recklessly, while claiming it didn't have enough money for es- sential items like medicines. Dalli said that the last report published by the Auditor-General was another clear dem- onstration of how the government was being 'generous' with public funds when it deemed so... The Labour MP said that the Auditor-Gen- eral noted that the public sector's top man- agement was not in a position to know the number of hours that these consultants were actually working. Dalli said that the fact that certain minis- tries did not even answer to the questionnaire sent by the Auditor-General to examine the manner in which consultants worked in the respective ministries was a demonstration of the government's "sheer arrogance" Dalli explained that in certain cases, the consultants' contracts were not even sent to the Auditor-General's office as requested. She explained that out of those contracts that were sent to the Auditor-General, some of them did not even have a date on them, while in others, the name of the contract did not match with the name of the consultant. "It is shameful how the government continues not giving an account of how public money are being spent without any transparency nor accountability, while at the same time con- tinue to be parsimonious with the public in serious matters such as the payment on medi- cines," Dalli insisted. The annual report by the National Audit Office found an increase in ad hoc consult- ants and advisors appointed with various ministers, without being backed up by proper contracts. According to the report, in 2007 there were 43 consultants employed on a part-time basis with 11 ministries. From the 24 out of 38 con- tracts surveyed (63%), it was noted that duties were not specified in detail in the contracts, which the NAO said would not render the ministry able to hold the consultant directly accountable. And payments to six consultants included amounts in excess of those specified in their contracts. Extra payments were made related to bo- nuses and weekly allowances, cost of living allowance and other allowances. MaltaToday 10 years ago Quote of the Week To have and have not, at Christmas Editorial ''Without a masterplan... people are just too frustrated to even protest the way development is being carried out. Malta will become a Manhattan.'' PD Candidate Anthony Buttigieg IN an understandably jubilant tweeted re- sponse to the latest Eurobarometer report, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the survey "shows [that] amongst all EU citizens, the Mal- tese are the most convinced about direction of their country (68%) and have highest trust in Government (63%). Maltese families state they are doing well (92%), [and that] jobs (94%) and economy (95%) are also in good shape." But while the figures do indeed project an image of good economic health, there are undeniably growing indications that material poverty is on the increase. The existence of a Foodbank in Valletta is one example of a de- velopment that is in many ways alarming, yet which has now come to be accepted almost without question. Reverend Kim Hurst, founder and chair- person at the Lifeline Foundation, told Mal- taToday that the Foodbank was set up after a member of her church saw an individual go- ing through bins in Valletta back in 2015. "What they were doing was picking up fast food cartons that people had thrown away, to eat the food that people had left… and we thought if it had gotten to the stage where people were having to rummage through bins looking for food, we needed to help. So we spoke with social workers and asked 'Do you struggle to feed families sometimes?' and they said 'Yes.'" The initiative is in many ways uncomfort- ably reminiscent of the Victory Kitchens dur- ing World War Two… even though, at that time, Malta was on the brink of starvation. There is therefore something paradoxical about a similar phenomenon arising today, in 21st century Malta, at a time when official statistics present such a different picture. Here, the statistics themselves may also be slightly misleading. It may well be true that more people are going through a phase of financial well-being at the moment, and are likely to be satisfied with the country's eco- nomic direction. And there is certainly much to be satisfied with when examining employ- ment figures and economic growth. But it could also be the case that, while fewer in number, people who are affected by poverty are harder hit than ever before, too. The majority of the people availing of the Foodbank's services are working people who for one reason or another still aren't able to financially manage independently – and many find themselves struggling due to the increase in rents Malta has seen over the last few years. A recent KPMG report shows that average rental prices in Malta, excluding Gozo, had risen by roughly 47% between 2013 and 2016. Salaries have not risen concomitantly, and we may be facing a future where homelessness becomes a common, everyday sight. Significantly, Hurst said that when the Foodbank first started they were servicing 10 families per week. Over time the number has increased – now the Foodbank services 80 families per week. In October, it distributed over 300 packs of food, which means that 1,300 individuals would otherwise have not had enough food to eat. Hurst's comments speak of a reality that is so far removed from the usual discourse on economic growth and political browbeating on construction and development. Christmas should be a time for reflection, but also for deeper policy analysis by parties and think- tanks. Clearly, there are deep pockets of poverty hidden behind the glossy never of Malta's economic success story. If we truly want to build up a nation that is justifiably proud of its successes, we must understand where these pockets are; a reality that is also tied in with the unsustainable housing market that prices people out of their home towns in search for rented properties, at times with no security at all. When talking about poverty, we must also resist dramatising the extreme cases. Poverty and social exclusion can manifest themselves in various forms. Obviously, household in- come has a big impact on living standards. However, other aspects may prevent full par- ticipation in society. The latter may include monetary poverty, material deprivation, and very low work in- tensity, and people who may be affected by two or even all three of these potential pov- erty or social exclusion factors. Under EU methodology, the at-risk-of- poverty rate would mean that 72,143 persons (16.9%) in Malta are living below the equiv- alised threshold of €8,698 (60% of median national equivalised income). At this rate, over 18,000 households in Malta represent a segment of the population that are living at risk of poverty, something that seems to be inconceivable with the talk of Malta's rapid economic growth a subject of daily conversa- tion. Economic disparity is another reality that must also be addressed. There is a danger in measuring a country's economic well-being only through the Gross Domestic Product. That view looks only at the 'haves', and ig- nores the existence of the 'have-nots' alto- gether. There is a pressing need to find an alterna- tive to the current system which robs people of their time and control over their relatively short lives. We need an alternative by which people reclaim time for their own wellbeing, and that of others. These are sobering realities to contemplate, as we prepare to celebrate Christmas: tradi- tionally, a time for giving, and to be mindful of the most vulnerable.