Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1451574
NEWS 5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 16 FEBRUARY 2022 t: +356 2292 6148 e: arpa.mafa@gov.mt w: www.arpa.gov.mt Agriculture and Rural Payments Agency Luqa Road, Qormi QRM9075 – Malta Project Officer (Paying Agency) Interested candidates are invited to apply for the position of Project Officer (Paying Agency) with the Agriculture and Rural Payments Agency (ARPA) within the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights (MAFA). Prospective project officers shall be requested to fulfil positions and assigned tasks in areas within the Paying Agency`s organisation structure. The Agency's remit in the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy, particularly in the control and payment of the relevant EU funds may be viewed at www.arpa.gov.mt This position offers an attractive remuneration package with potential career prospects. If this sounds like the right opportunity for you, then you are to submit applications through the Online Government Recruitment Portal https://recruitment.gov.mt by the closing time and date of this call for applications 17:15 CET on Friday 21 st February 2022. Only candidates who are eligible under the details which can be viewed in the call will be considered. Further details may be obtained by calling us on 22924512 or by sending an email on humanresources.mafa@gov.mt. Council of Europe renews call for justice to be done in Caruana Galizia murder KURT SANSONE MALTESE authorities must en- sure that everyone involved in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia is identified and brought to just, the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner said. Dunja Mijatovic said the top priority for government should be to set in motion vital legisla- tive and other reforms to fully implement the recommenda- tions of the Caruana Galizia pub- lic inquiry report. "The effective involvement of civil society in this process and ensuring accountability and transparency at all stages are key," Mijatovic said. The remarks were made in a re- port released on Tuesday follow- ing Mijatovic's visit to Malta last October. The Commissioner recom- mended a co-ordinated response to threats and attacks against journalists, including online, and increased awareness-raising among law enforcement agents. She also warned that the adop- tion of a new media law to pro- vide greater protection for jour- nalists should not result in state interference in the regulation of their profession and invited the media community to adopt an ef- fective system of self-regulation. Mijatovic recommended the enactment of legislation to coun- ter the use of vexatious lawsuits against journalists and the effec- tive implementation of the Free- dom of Information Act. The report raised concerns over the "lack of a transparent system" for providing public aid to media outlets. "Subsidies provided since the onset of the COVID-19 pandem- ic have been a source of contro- versy, with politically-owned me- dia houses reportedly favoured over independent outlets, thus further polarising the media en- vironment," Mijatovic said. CoE Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic renews call for all those involved in Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder to be brought to justice CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Mr Justice Robert Mangion had allocated three hours to hear witnesses summoned by Steward, of whom former Prime Minis- ter Joseph Muscat was one, today. But the sitting only lasted minutes as, when the case was called at 11am on Tuesday, the judge observed that a note had been filed by the plaintiffs, ceding the case. It is understood that no reason was specified in the note. None of the witness- es attended today's sitting. Steward was challenging Gupta's expec- tations of a €6 million payout, claiming the original Vitals concession was obtained fraudulently. In a related case, Nationalist MP Adrian Delia insisted this admission means the hospitals privatisation contract has to be rescinded. The claim concerns a multi-million loan that Gupta had made to Vitals' ultimate beneficial owner – Bluestone Investments – when it was negotiating the concession for St Luke's, Karin Grech and Gozo hos- pitals in January 2015. In March 2015, Gupta reached a deal on how to finance the Vitals project, with Bluestone owners Mark Pawley and Ram Tumuluri, Portpool Investments (PIL) and Bluestone Special Situation 4, another Bluestone offshore company. Vitals was granted the government con- tract in November 2015. Gupta and MANV had advanced $4 million to Bluestone Investment Man- agement, as well as another $650,000 as a bond payment for the Vitals concession. But a dispute arose in September 2016 over Gupta's and MANV's share in the Vitals Global Healthcare Malta hospital privatisation project. Gupta was then accused of endangering the €200 million project, and the opposing sides lawyered up. A $10 million settlement was subse- quently reached in December 2016 under the terms of which $5 million was settled straight away, but another $5 million, at 8% interest, had to be paid up by Febru- ary 2017. The second tranche was never paid, and Vitals eventually sold off its con- cession to Steward Healthcare Interna- tional in December 2017, and the dispute dragged on into 2019. Reason for ceding case not disclosed