Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/844884
2 PAUL COCKS THE Nationalist Party may in- deed have paid all expenses in- curred for the 3 June election campaign – as has been claimed by its leader Simon Busuttil – but the party finances remain dire with a deficit for 2016 alone amounting to €1,639,557. In 2015, the deficit stood at €2,497,805. In comparison, the Labour Par- ty registered a surplus of €40,031 for 2016. Last year, the PN made €64,722 through membership and sub- scriptions – compared to the €75,942 in 2015 – whilst dona- tions reached €979,319. The PL made €71,934 in mem- berships and subscriptions and managed to collect €630,590 in individual donations. The PN raised just €190,867 through fundraising activities with expenses reaching €81,002; the PL on the other hand did not organise any fundraising activi- ties. In 2016, the party spent €351,694 in staff costs, €79,798 more than the previous year. Administration costs reached €204,244 – €84,600 more than that spent in 2015. The Labour Party spent €375,811 on staff costs, and a fur- ther €122,019 on administration expenses. The Nationalist Party's initia- tive to seek financing from small loans of €10,000 on an interest rate of 4% netted €3,527,100 in borrowings from third parties. For the year ending 31 Decem- ber 2016, the PN had a total debt of €8,421,105, with the loans split as following: two bank loans of €415,210 and €2,894,005 respec- tively and borrowing from other related parties of €2 million. The borrowing from third parties – referring to the scheme popu- larly known as 'cedoli' – reached €3,527,100. The money loaned under the scheme is repayable in full at the expiration of a ten-year period commencing from the date of signing of the loan agreement. Reacting to their political ri- val's accounts, the Labour Party accused the "PN clique of giv- ing itself an unprecedented raise whilst sacking workers". It also pointed out that the ac- counts were submitted to the Electoral Commission two months late, and only after the general election had passed. The PL added that the finan- cial accounts belied outgoing PN leader Simon Busuttil: "Whilst he said that the PN was making profit, the truth shows other- wise." On its part, the PN accused the PL of resorting to lies, add- ing that the PL has not declared how much its electoral campaign cost. The PN has said that it spent €1.3 million on its electoral campaign. The PN pointed out that it had launched a 15-year restructuring plan in 2014 to turn around its finances. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 5 JULY 2017 News US continues to see Malta as 'source' country for sex trafficking MIRIAM DALLI MALTA has retained its 'Tier 2' country classification in the annual trafficking of persons report published by the US De- partment of State. The 'Tier 2' ranking, which Malta has had for the past 10 years, means the United States considers Malta to be "a source and destination country for women and children subjected to sex trafficking". The ranking is given based on the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and countries whose govern- ment do not fully meet the TV- PA's minimum standards. The Tier 2 also notes countries as making significant efforts to meet those standards. But the watch list also includes countries where the absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is signifi- cant or where there is a failure to provide evidence of increas- ing efforts to combat traffick- ing. Also, a third criterion is where the country is making significant efforts to meet the minimum standards, based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year. Since at least the report pub- lished in 2010, Malta has con- stantly been listed as a Tier 2 country, which means that the government does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; how- ever it is making significant ef- forts to do so. The reason being that no per- son has been convicted for traf- ficking for the past five years. "The government demonstrat- ed increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period; therefore Malta remained on Tier 2. The government dem- onstrated increasing efforts by identifying significantly more victims and providing all of them with shelter and services and funding training for police recruits and officers, border agents, and diplomats. "However, the government did not meet the minimum stand- ards, as it has not secured any trafficking convictions since 2012." The report recommends that Malta "vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking of- fences and pursue adequate sen- tencing for convicted trafficking offenders and increase efforts and training of relevant staff and officials to proactively identify trafficking victims among vul- nerable immigrant populations, particularly migrant workers, child trafficking victims and women in prostitution. Malta is also being urged to use anti-trafficking training for police officers, prosecutors and judges to increase focus on working with victims and pro- cedures for appropriate referral for care and to increase funding to the inter-ministerial commit- tee for implementing the na- tional action plan. The government, the report recommends, should also in- crease funding for both short- and long-term shelter and as- sistance adapted to the needs of trafficking victims, including male victims and minors. Adequate availability of trans- lators for victims and more awareness campaigns should be provided. The report found the govern- ment maintained law enforce- ment efforts while demonstrat- ing "modest efforts" to protect trafficking victims. It however praised the government for maintaining prevention efforts. PN generated more income than PL in 2016 – but still ended with €1.6m deficit 2016 in numbers for both political parties PN PL Corporate donations €35,200 €80,000 Individual donations €944,119 €392,163 Individual subscriptions €64,722 €71,934 Sale of merchandise €1,871 €3,783 No. of employees 14 24 Staff Costs €327,215 €351,765 Communication expenses €19,470 €28,119 Travelling & entertainment expenses €8,317 €2,302 Legal & professional expenses €35,675 €5,344 Water & electricity bills €68,495 €38,853 Year 2016 Deficit of €1,639,557 Surplus of €40,031