Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/318021
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 MAY 2014 20 Letters Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. Government's concerted action to bring its finances to some normality includes fighting abuses. Many a citizen is abusing the system by claiming and benefiting from government funds they are not entitled to. At times these abuses are taking place in the full knowledge of certain members of the political class. In all fairness, government has started to curb these abuses but far more needs to be done. The curbing of abuses is an important cog in the fight to control Malta's financial deficit. The habit of having government employees 'boarded out' - awarding an early retirement on the pretense of being in extremely poor or fragile health - is unbelievably high. Then there are the persons claiming unemployment benefits when they are in fact active players in the black economy. Other abuses include some families claiming children's allowance when their true income excludes them from this measure of support. Another is the women who work outside the system and fail to declare their income so as not to prejudice their husband's right to certain benefits. All governments of whatever shade have traditionally turned a blind eye to these abuses. The thinking must have been that the inevitable effect on the deficit was a political price worth paying when compared to the vote- catching electoral benefits. This charade has gone on for too long and its full impact is only being appreciated now that the deficit has reached such unsustainable levels. Indeed there is much evidence that many changes and amendments to the social benefits system were at times even amended or fine tuned just to benefit a number of voters on the eve of elections. It is now perfectly clear that patronage has pushed the country into an economic crisis and that the situation must be addressed. While appreciating all the efforts being made to cut waste, the government must appreciate that curbing abuse is a priority. It is common knowledge that the system of 'boarding out' employees from the public service needs looking at. This system is neither open nor transparent. Too little is known about the many persons that are aided and abetted by some members of both the political class and the medical profession. We understand that no fewer than nine thousand persons were boarded out from government service last year, with a disproportionately high number of them from Gozo. This needs looking into and if our allegations are correct, a Parliamentary Committee needs to be set up to make the system more transparent and open in order to remove all possibilities of abuse. The net effect of the boarding out system is that persons are abusively retiring early and benefiting from an early pension, for which the taxpayer is meeting the expense. This is no different to the other forms of abuses and is totally unacceptable. What is stopping the government from periodically following those unemployed who, soon after registering, unashamedly return to their illegal place of work? What is stopping the government from scrutinising the lifestyle of persons registering for unemployment benefits? Traditionally, our colonial attitude has led us to believe that cheating the colonial government amounted to exploiting a foreign power that would inevitably carry the financial cost. This is no longer the case; cheating and abusing the government today involves a burden carried by the Maltese taxpayer. At the end of the day, the cost of all abuses reflects in a higher deficit, which will have to be met from taxation. A government campaign should be launched, quantifying the cost of abuses to the average taxpayer. The campaign should state very clearly that encouraging persons to work outside the system by not declaring their earnings for services provided is costing the government less revenue, which eventually will be reflected in higher taxation. Act fast and act now! Abusing social benefits Editorial • May 30 2004 Clean up Cospicua I would like to make a complaint about the ever- growing littering that is happening around Cos- picua. It seems like the Local Council are either not aware or are simply not doing anything about it. I have noticed that the streets are no longer cleaned on a daily basis and the amount of papers, rubbish and dog faeces are increasing at an alarming rate. It is a shame that I seem to be paying my taxes for nothing and it is also embarrassing that as a in- habitant of such a beautiful town, I have to always look down to watch where I'm stepping rather than looking up and taking in the beautiful architecture and history that Cospicua exudes. I wish the Cospicua Local Council would take more pride in their town. Rosemary Borg Cospicua A reply to a Mintoffian I read your open letter to our prime minister. You did this because Muscat has appealed to " the soldiers of steel" to once again help their own party by going to vote PL on 24 May and to convince others to do the same. It seems that you associate "soldiers of steel" with those who defied the Church authorities in the 60s and voted Labour. I, on the other hand, consider "soldiers of steel" all those who believed and still believe that the PL in govern- ment is far better, both for our country and our people, than any PN government can ever be. You are just judging Mintoff from what he did for our country and the Maltese people. I also judge Mintoff on what he did to our party, which is very different to what he did for our people. It is a fact that the PN had always benefitted from Dom Mintoff 's way of doing things. When Mintoff had challenged Boffa for the leader- ship and the party ended divided into two parties the PN benefitted. From just seven members of parlia- ment in 1947, the PN won 13 seats in 1950, if I remember correctly. And Labour ended in opposition up to 1955. Yet again in 1959, when Mintoff resigned in protest against the British government's intention to start sacking thousands of workers from the Dockyard – something with which the majority of the people had agreed with. But then, at the same time, gave the PN and the Church - the traditional ally of the PN – a perfect excuse to start a 'Holy war' against our party, when Mintoff spoke openly about the famous 'sitt punti'. Mintoff seemed to have learnt his lesson because he came to terms with the Church in 1969. Noth- ing was said about the `six points`. And when Labour won the election in 1971, the six points were then introduced. But it did not take long for Dom Mintoff to again help the PN get to power, when he started the Church Schools saga. But left this red-hot potato on Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici's lap because he resigned from prime minister and leader of the party. This was the main issue which caused our party`s defeat by just 5,000 votes in 1987. But Dom Mintoff `s worst action and which once again offered electoral victory to the PN on a silver plate, was his willful decision to bring Dr. Sant`s labour govern- ment down in 1998, just 22 months after having won the election in 1996. This fact not only stopped Labour from governing for at least a full legislature, but also gave the PN a clear road to get Malta into the European Union! And yet, you say that Mintoff was against Malta joining the European Union. If he truly was, he should have known what his vote against the Labour government in parliament would result in! That defeat in 1998 made it plain sailing for the PN to return to government and stay there until March 2013. I must add that the PL failed to win in 2008 by just 1,500 votes, was due to the fact that a few thousands of " Mintoffians " like you preferred not to vote, or indeed voted for the PN just to spite Dr. Alfred Sant from being once again prime minister. I knew a few of these 'Mintoffians' personally! I have given you the other side of Dom Mintoff, which you may have never thought about. Thank God, in Joseph Muscat our party has found just the right leader to take on our political adversaries. Muscat has not only given the PN a historical defeat but has attracted many thousands of people even from sectors that were traditionally PN-leaning. Muscat's first year as prime minister has already shown that the great majority of Maltese and Gozitan voters had made a very wise choice on March 9, 2013. This is why I, contrary to you, appeal to all Labourite "soldiers of steel" to once again rally behind their leader and party on May 24, to give a strong message to those who have victimised them in the past and still want to ridicule them today. Eddy Privitera Mosta Part of the inner circle The Hon Dr Beppe Fenech Adami graciously included me – photo and all – in the list of 200 people within the Labour Party's inner circle. He listed me as a 'Board Member for the Aged'. Since I really am aged – please see the accompa- nying photo, which does not really reflect my age – I do thank Dr Fenech Adami graciously and profoundly. Certain people brought this to my attention, advising me (poorly, I thought) that I should take Dr Fenech Adami to court over this. To those who suggested this malicious course of action, I replied, "definitely not". However, I would heart- ily give my consent to Dr Fenech Adami to com- mence court proceedings against Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, for not passing on the – doubtlessly sizeable – financial remunerations owed to me for the preferential board position supposedly bestowed upon me by the Labour Party. Lino DeBono Xewkija, Gozo