Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/628647
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 20 JANUARY 2016 3 News MTA worker singled out by Nationalist MP got job fairly, ministry says MATTHEW VELLA A woman whom Nationalist MP Antoine Borg alleged in parlia- ment had benefited from a 'fast- track ' promotion at the Malta Tourism Authority, had been an employee at the directorate for 28 years. Glenn Bedingfield, an aide to the Prime Minister, replied to accusations by Borg that the woman, who is Bedingfield's cousin, had been promoted ahead of other candidates, say- ing that Marisa Delorenzo had been prevented from advancing in her career on several occa- sions, irrespective of her quali- fications. Bedingfield said his cousin had applied in answer to an internal call, for which she had the nec- essary qualifications and expe- rience to be considered. "It would have never passed through my head that my rela- tives are precluded from advanc- ing in their careers," the former One News journalist said, re- cently hauled over the coals for comments he made about Archbishop Charles Scicluna after the latter criticised Joseph Muscat's poorly received New Year's message. "If Borg considers that 28 years are a 'fast track ', it's ob- vious he has a problem with numbers, having left the PN's finances in a state that required a bailout," Bedingfield quipped at the former PN financial con- troller's stewardship of party finances. "Borg's implication confirms that the PN is wasting time speaking about people, instead of talking about policies," he added. Speaking during the parlia- mentary adjournment, Borg claimed that Delorenzo was promoted from executive sec- retary to EU Affairs manager, bypassing the grade of assist- ant manager. Borg claimed that she was promoted despite other MTA staff being more qualified for the role. He added that the tourism au- thority's HR director never com- municates with the staff and simply follows commands of the MTA leaders and the tourism ministry. In a statement, the tourism ministry said that Delorenzo, a senior executive, applied for the post of manager EU pro- grammes directorate within the MTA after answering an inter- nal call for manager and senior manager posts. Three in the same grade as Delorenzo had applied, meaning none of the assistant managers applied for the post. All candi- dates were interviewed by MTA and ministry officials. "Ms Delorenzo was involved in successful projects such as that of the MCC's Sacra Infermeria and the Marsaxlokk Tourist In- formation Office." In a reaction, Borg accused Bedingfield of "distorting the facts of the scandal", claiming that Delorenzo was performing duties as a clerk in the tour- ism department after she was employed with the government prior to the 1987 elections. Borg suggested that Deloren- zo was employed "at the last minute" in a pre-electoral pub- lic sector intake under then minister Joe Grima. "Beding- field should be transparent enough to supply us with the requirements published for the job in question, and also whether these requirements are standard for such calls in high positions; and the relevant qualifications and experience his cousin enjoys. "One would expect that for such a position, namely that of manager EU policies, the barest minimum would be a university degree in the subject. Huffing and puffing will not make this go away. This is yet another fast- tracking and leapfrogging of friends and relatives of the inner Taghna Lkoll clique." Glenn Bedingfield (left) said MP Antoine Borg (right) targeted his relatives by way of association Hunters to save €647,750 through new licensing system TIM DIACONO HUNTERS and trappers will col- lectively save €647,750 through the new hunting licensing system, data from hunting federation FKNK shows. As a result of the new system, hunters only have to renew their licences every five years as opposed to annually, resulting in significant savings. A five-year licence to hunt or trap birds now costs €50, compared to an annual €20 fee under the pre- vious system. A five-year licence to hunt wild rabbit with nets now costs €25, down from the previous €20 annual fee. A five-year joint hunting and trap- ping licence now costs €75, com- pared to an annual €40 under the old system. This ultimately means that 12,500 of the 12,602 registered hunters and trappers will save between €25 and €100 in licensing fees over a five- year period. The exceptions are for people in possession of three or all of the four possible hunting licences – bird hunting on land, bird hunting at sea, hunting wild rabbits, and capturing wild rabbits with nets – and for peo- ple with all four hunting licences as well as a trapping one. Only one hunter in Malta is currently in pos- session of all five possible licences. In total, these 102 hunters will now see their licence bills increase by €4,650 over a five-year period. Under the new system, hunters are now obliged to report their catches by telephone – replacing the manu- al Carnet de Chasse booklet. The new licence card resembles an ID card – with photo identification – that will allow police to instantly identify hunters. Parliamentary secretary for ani- mal rights Roderick Galdes said that the changes were introduced so as to reduce bureaucracy and en- hance the enforcement of hunting and trapping regulations. However, BirdLife Malta warned that hunters are now no longer obliged to record hunting days when no catches were made, a valu- able statistic used by authorities to report on hunting seasons and derogations. to our new premises in Valletta Road, Luqa opposite TNT w e h a v e m o v e d Tel. 21 320 433