Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1512576
OMAR Farrugia is a Labour MP and a former mayor. He re- ceives a salary as an MP which is equivalent to one of the low- er grades in the civil service. He is also expected to dedicate his life to parliamentary work. Like most of his other col- leagues, Labour and National- ist alike, he cannot cope with his expenses. His appointment as chairman of SportMalta and the salary that comes with it will help him make it through the month. This episode tells us some- thing about the state of our legislative body. I cannot see the possibility of having a serious review in the wage structure for parliamen- tarians and ministers in the coming months or years and the reluctance to tackle this topic is because of backlash from the electorate. How sad. So, to tackle the issue of low and ridiculous salaries for MPs we dish out jobs for the boys. But wait. This habit of having parlia- mentarians working in the state sector and private sector is not restricted to those with a Labour pedigree; it is also pre- dominant with a sizeable num- ber of Nationalist MPs. We have heard of Rosianne Cutajar, who is now independ- ent, and her consultancy job at the ITS but what we have not heard of is all of the other MPs, blue and red, who also have jobs and do not even turn up for work. And what we have not heard is about MPs who have job responsibilities which do not even remotely match their work experience or academic background. I could mention all the indi- viduals one by one. But those who cry wolf only seem to do so when a politician is affiliat- ed with Labour, and lose their tongue with the others. The solution to this conun- drum is to address the situation at once. This can only happen if the salaries of parliamentari- ans are calibrated and rectified to reflect what is expected of them. Most parliamentarians are dependent on their private income and businesses and see their salary from parliament as a simple perk. More interestingly very few MPs are willing to give up their other income for their MP's salary. The situation is made even worse when it comes to the sal- ary of parliamentary secretar- ies, ministers, Speaker, leader of opposition and the Prime Minister. No one in his right mind should be a minister un- less they have another income stream from another source. Ever since Joseph Muscat's days there has been an obsti- nate refusal to address this sit- uation. Muscat, who now rakes in hundreds of thousands a year from big business was petrified of an overreaction from the public after he had lambast- ed Lawrence Gonzi's secretive plan to raise income for minis- ters before 2013 through a sys- tem of honoraria. Gonzi's decision was one of the main reasons that led to backlash from PN dissenters at the time. And yet his intentions were justified, the method was how- ever diabolical. Muscat's refusal is one part of the story but now we have Robert Abela and it is his re- sponsibility to look to the fu- ture. He needs to sit down with PN leader Bernard Grech and agree on a way forward. Surely the salaries must be structured to allow for all elected and serving politicians to dedicate their working time to parliament and the execu- tive, as the case may be. The Nationalist Party lashed out at Omar Farrugia citing more competent people for the post. Governments should appoint and are obliged to ap- point their own chairmen for public entities, more so if they want those public entities to promote their policies. The is- sue here is the appointment of a parliamentarian. Parliamentarians should be parliamentarians and stop there. But they need to be re- munerated appropriately. They should also be involved in parliamentary work but to- day backbenchers are as useful as the appendix in the human body - useless. Indeed, they might as well not even attend parliament. Parliament needs a boost with dedicated men and women and not men and women who sim- ply see it as a stepping stone to other things or simply a go at their egocentricity. MPs should also be furnished with the tools to operate, in- cluding paid assistants. Today, the conditions of Mal- tese MPs are a distant cry from this of fellow Maltese MEPs. The difference could not be more glaring. MEPs not on- ly have a coterie of assistants but also a budget to amaze their constituency – such as the habit of all Maltese MPs of inviting hordes of Maltese voters to Brussels, all expenses paid including delicious meal of moules et frites from the Grand Place. * * * The Palestinians that are dy- ing in their hundreds in Gaza and the irreverence of the Israeli government to International law coupled with the silence from the West will come to haunt to us. To those who laud the Israeli State and actions of the US, Brit- ain and the EU, it would be useful to revisit some history, such as the ethnic cleansing of the Pales- tinians in 1948 and the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians. The book by Israeli author Ilan Pappé a res- ident of Haifa would be a first read. May I suggest that all Maltese politicians buy the book, The Ethnic Cleansing Of Palestine. Now that would a great Christ- mas gift for Roberta Metsola and Ian Borg. Not knowing history is what makes all of us part of this crowd that are too scared to speak and tell it as it is. The Israeli State is oppressive, adopts an apartheid system and is actively perpetrating a second Nakba. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 DECEMBER 2023 OPINION 5 Saviour Balzan Bitter sweet truth This habit of having parliamentarians working in the state sector and private sector is not restricted to those with a Labour pedigree; it is also predominant with a sizeable number of Nationalist MPs Saviour Balzan is founder and co-owner of Media Today, publisher of MaltaToday, he is a TV host and pollster Omar Farrugia