Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/414558
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2014 7 News Educators urged to report cases of cyberbullying JURGEN BALZAN THE office of the Commissioner for Children has joined forces with the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) and launched the BeSmartOnline! campaign to raise awareness about cyberbullying. All teachers will be receiving a fact sheet explaining what cyberbullying is, its effects on children and educa- tors, what teachers could do to help victims and how they can protect themselves. The fact sheet also ad- vises teachers what to do if they be- come victims of cyberbullying. The BeSmartOnline! project is a national initiative that groups the efforts of various stakeholders, in- cluding the Malta Communications Authority and Agenzija Appogg, with the aim of creating awareness on the safe use of new technologies and applications and provide a hel- pline and hotline where abuse can be reported. This project is co-funded by the European Union through the Safer Internet Programme, which aims at empowering and protecting chil- dren and teens online from risks associated with online activity, through numerous awareness rais- ing initiatives and by fighting illegal and harmful content and behaviour online. Commissioner Helen D'Amato un- derlined the importance of reaching a balance between online and offline lives and insisted on "respecting the boundaries which exist in real life and in the virtual world." She also announced a national conference for November 21 and 22 on the positive use of the inter- net, which will be organised by the BeSmartOnline! project together with the MUT. The conference is aimed at educating teachers and parents about the internet and dig- ital parenting. MUT president Kevin Bonello said existing legislation needed to be up- dated because of the ever-changing landscape. Explaining that the union gets around two reports a month from teachers who are allegedly bullied online, Bonello said that technology blurred the boundaries and allowed people to hide behind anonymous profiles or to create false identities. Asked whether teachers have a code of ethics on how they should behave online, Bonello said "We do have a code of ethics and guidelines which recommend that teachers do not have students or their parents as their friends on social network sites. However, it must be said that social media can be used positively, especially to reach out to vulnerable students." On November 18 and 19 students will have the opportunity to attend a seminar on how an online-offline balance can be reached and how they can use the internet safely. TIM DIACONO OPPOSITION leader Simon Busuttil called on the government to consider a proposal that would see money col- lected through vehicle registration going to local councils which, he said, are facing serious financial difficul- ties. Speaking at a meeting with Iklin lo- cal council, Busuttil said that a pro- posal made by David Agius, opposi- tion spokesman for local government, would direct to local councils 10% of the €52 million collected every year through vehicle registration fees. Busuttil praised Iklin council for its embellishment works, which in- cluded roadworks, the installation of benches, planting of flowers and an EU-funded rubble wall construction project. "The last budget reduced the amount of central funds allocated to local councils," Busuttil said. "This needs to be addressed. If the govern- ment truly believes in local councils, it needs to show this through action and not just through words." Through the proposed scheme, a portion of a vehicle owner's registra- tion fee would be directed to his or her locality. Busuttil also told the government to set a date for the 2015 local elec- tions. "While the government has performed a U-turn on the local elec- tions issue, it has not yet come up with a date for these elections," Bu- suttil said. "Candidates have a right to know." Citing recent national statistics, Busuttil said the government's ex- pansion of the public sector was the reason unemployment was low. The statistics show that full-time employ- ment in June 2014 rose by 3.9% and part-time employment by 7% when compared with June 2013. Full-time employment in the private sector in- creased by 4,026 people to 119,858 employees while full-time employ- ment in the public sector increased by 2,108 people to 43,939 employees. "More people are employed within the private sector, but it's not enough," Busuttil said. Busuttil also called into question the government's decision to offer businesses a tax rebate on donations of over €2,000 to the Malta Commu- nity Chest Fund. "This is discrimina- tory and discourages people from do- nating to other NGOs," he said. "The scheme should extend to donations made to all NGOs." On economy minister Chris Car- dona's announcement that he intends to link his political career to the White Rocks investment programme, Busuttil expressed some scepticism: "We heard Joseph Muscat make a similar promise over the gas power station project. I think that speaks for itself," the opposition leader said. Government architect to evaluate property only on suspicion of abuse All property sales had to be followed-up by an inspection by government architect MIRIAM DALLI A government-appointed architect will only be sent to evaluate a prop- erty's value after its purchase only in cases where abuse is suspected, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna told a news conference yesterday. A government-appointed architect will only be asked to give his evalu- ation if the promise-of-sale agree- ment does not reflect the value of the property as laid out in a list of prop- erty characteristics determining the value of a property. Buyers or sellers can also appoint a private architect to carry out an evaluation of the price of the prop- erty based on these characteristics, which will be published in a legal notice. "We are effectively eliminating a bureaucratic procedure that made life more difficult for people buy- ing a property. Innocent people were facing endless fines simply because a government-appointed architect, based on his experience and hunch, decides that the price listed did not reflect the 'true' value. With this list, we are now legally defining what makes a property valuable," Scicluna said. "Through political experience we have seen families trapped in this procedure. We now have an instru- ment which scientifically analyses the property value." He explained that while buyers would now be in better control of their transaction, the department would still monitor the promise- of-sale agreements and intervene whenever abuse is suspected. Buyers or sellers can also ask an ar- chitect to compile a list of the char- acteristics determining the value of the property and enclose with the property-of-sale agreement. Scicluna said it took 12 months for the government to establish the instruments that will determine the property value, such as floor area, lo- cality, type of property, and views. "Normal buyers and sellers should proceed with the transfer of proper- ty without being harassed. However, anyone who will attempt to cheat should bear in mind that we will know because we do have the tools to catch them." PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD Busuttil tells government to allocate more funds to local councils Centre: Children Commissioner Helen D'Amato and MUT president Kevin Bonello 'Give a date for local elections' – Simon Busuttil PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD