Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/558086
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 19 AUGUST 2015 3 News Godfrey Farrugia to retain Labour whip duties Labour whip Godfrey Farrugia announced last week that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and would be undergoing surgical treatment in the UK LABOUR whip Godfrey Farru- gia will retain his duties in par- liament until he undergoes sur- gical intervention in London, a government press statement said yesterday. The government said the former health minister is now awaiting an appointment for surgery in London and until then he will continue to serve as whip of Labour's parliamen- tary group. He is then expected to resume his duties once he re- turns to public life. Farrugia went public with his prostate cancer diagnosis last week – the result of the diagno- sis came after a health screen- ing. In a Facebook comment pub- lished on Saturday, Farrugia announced that he is suffering from prostate cancer and will be undergoing surgery in the UK. The MP thanked well-wishers and gave an update about his condition after his partner and government backbencher Mar- lene Farrugia said he was still in hospital but his condition had improved. In his candid post, Farrugia explained that he got to know about the gravity of his condi- tion after undergoing routine tests which showed that his prostate specific antigen was abnormally high. "Obviously I sought a special- ist consultation, and the spe- cialist in turn directed me to- wards MRI, which resulted that I have two new growths in my prostate gland," the MP said. Farrugia, a GP himself, added that following a biopsy he suf- fered from some complications and spent three days in hospital after developing a very high fever. The results of the biopsy confirmed that Farrugia has "aggressive can- cer of the prostate, which requires radical surgery or radiotherapy." Such procedures are routinely car- ried out in a Lon- don hospital and the MP will under- go surgery to eradi- cate the tumour as soon as the necessary arrange- ments are made. Ending his brief message on an optimistic note, Farrugia said "hopefully, within 15 days from surgery, I will be up and about delivering my Parliamen- tary duties with the usual vig- our..." Feed-in tariff for PV panels not covered by grant schemes A feed-in tariff has been set for photovoltaic panel systems not covered by previous grant schemes. The tariff will apply to PV panel systems that are larger than 1kWp, but smaller than 40 kWp and for systems larger than 40kWp but smaller then 1MWp. The feed-in tariffs have been set at €15c5 per kWh generated, and €15c per kWh generated re- spectively, and are guaranteed for twenty years. Applications are to be submitted to the Regulator for Energy and Water Services, and are being received with immediate effect. Separately, a feed-in tariff of €16c5 has been set for the residen- tial photovoltaic panels' scheme which was launched last June. This scheme covers 50% of eligible costs up to a maximum of €757 per kWp generated or up to a maximum of €2,300 for every system installed, and is guaranteed for six years. In a brief statement, energy minister Konrad Mizzi said that these initiatives "will further con- tribute to more positive results in the renewable energy sector while simultaneously contributing to the reduction of our carbon foot- print". Feed-in tariffs set for photovoltaic panel systems larger than 1kWp, but smaller than 40 kWp and for systems larger than 40kWp but smaller than 1MWp Godfrey Farrugia