Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/798939
8 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 15 MARCH 2017 News IN ALL LEADING BOOK SHOPS HISTORY OF ORNITHOLOGY IN MALTA New St Vincent de Paul storekeeping system to deliver more efficient distribution of supplies JEANELLE MIFSUD A new storekeeping system for the main St Vincent de Paul ware- house will lead to greater effi- ciency and accountability, as well as reduce bureaucracy, the parlia- mentary secretary for active age- ing, Justyne Caruana, said. The project includes the digitali- sation of the inventory system and a new, specially trained distribu- tion team made up of 10 people. "The digitalised system now permits continuous monitoring between supply and demand and in-time observation of consump- tion, which will make way for more efficient purchasing," Caru- ana said. The costs to run the residential home reach €2 million for essen- tial items, and a further €1 million in medicines. The warehouse was previously operating under a manual system, which made it difficult to monitor completely storage reserves and purchasing. The project also includes sepa- rate stores for food supplies and other consumables for the resi- dence of the home for the elderly, such as medicines. According to Caruana, the pro- ject is the result of a €96,000 in- vestment in auditing last year, which pinpointed several short- comings of the previous system. The warehouse was previously operating under a manual system, which made it difficult to monitor completely storage reserves and purchasing. PS Justyne Caruana (above, centre) inauguraing the new system Labour argues that Simon Busuttil is 'isolated' within his own party YANNICK PACE OPPOSITION leader Simon Bu- suttil is isolated, even within his own party, according to Labour MP Justyne Caruana. Address- ing a press conference at the Labour headquarters, Caruana said that it was Busuttil who had single handedly created "the mess" the Nationalist Party finds itself in when he asked pri- vate businesses to pay the sala- ries of two high ranking party officials. She hit out at the PN, accus- ing the party of being dishonest, adding that while on Friday PN MP Marthese Portelli said that the party would be publishing the invoices for services given to the db Group, MP Clyde Puli said that this was not the case. "With the way things are un- folding people are right to be asking what is going on," Caru- ana said. "We have repeatedly asked the Opposition to publish the invoices." She once again asked the leader of the Opposi- tion to come clean on whether or not the PN had similar ar- rangements with others. Health minister Chris Fearne, also speaking during the press conference, said that the case raises issues both of credibility and legality. He said that on the one hand, the revelations are a big dent to Busuttil's credibility, given that he had been "pontificating" and giving the impression that he was an honest politician for the past four years. In addition to this, Fearne said that what seems to have taken place between the PN and the db Group is clearly in violation of the Funding and Political Parties Act and should be inves- tigated by the electoral commis- sion. Parliamentary secretary Justyne Caruana (right) hit out at the PN, accusing the party of being dishonest. (Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday) New street name rules presented, but councils show scant interest TIM DIACONO NAMING a street has just become easier for local councils, with a new set of guidelines presented to help them in the process. The guidelines, drafted by the Street Naming Committee, state that new street names must be easy to write and read, that they cannot be longer than 40 characters, and that they cannot be named after a personality who is still alive. Street names cannot be changed except in exceptional circumstanc- es, such as when a road forks into separate streets that have the same name. Streets whose names reflect the topography or history of the vil- lage or town cannot be changed ei- ther. Local councils will be a maxi- mum of two months to install new street signs, ideally at both ends of the street. Streets that pass through more than one town must include signs that indicate exactly where one town stops and another one starts. The Committee is chaired by au- thor Charles Flores and is respon- sible for processing local councils' requests for street names before sending them to the Prime Minister for final approval. The new guidelines mean that they are now also responsible for naming arterial roads, national monuments, national parks or gardens, and in- dustrial estates after consultation with the local councils affected. The committee has also embarked on an extensive process to ensure that every house is numbered ap- propriately, providing tenants with stickers as a temporary measure. The parliamentary secretary for local councils, Stefan Buontempo urged residents not to remove the stickers from their doors, warning that a lack of signage confuses am- bulances, police, and delivery peo- ple. Buontempo called the press to a meeting at the Naxxar Counting Hall during which the guidelines were supposed to be presented and explained to the south-eastern local councils. However, out of the 14 councils invited, only three of them – Mar- saxlokk, Bormla and Mqabba – sent a representative. Their apathy earned them the condemnation of Flores and Buon- tempo, who warned that they were failing in their civic duties. "Street names shed light on the history of our towns and villages, and I was expecting far more local councils to attend this important conference," Buontempo said. Meanwhile Flores criticised cer- tain local councils, which he did not name, for dragging their feet on in- stalling street signs. "Often, the Committee does its work quickly but the council takes long to respond, sometimes even waiting nine months before install- ing a simple street sign," he said. "At the end of the day, this negatively impacts the council's residents."