Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/933296
maltatoday SUNDAY 28 JANUARY 2018 News 5 Join the celebrations and get your commemorative Valletta 2018 Mastercard Prepaid Cards today. be part of the Valletta 2018 celebrations BOV CARDS with the BOV Mastercard Prepaid Cards 2131 2020 I bov.com Issued by Bank of Valletta p.l.c., 58, Triq San Żakkarija, Il-Belt Valletta VLT 1130 Terms and conditions apply. Bank of Valletta p.l.c. is a public limited company licensed to carry out the business of banking and investment services in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371 of the Laws of Malta) and the Investment Services Act (Cap. 370 of the Laws of Malta). last June's general election. Expect this to increase as politicians try to engage with a growing audi- ence that receives its information almost exclusively through social media. But political engagement has not been for everyone. Professor Andrew Azzopardi, dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing at the University of Malta, argues that so far only "a small group" of young people are engaged in non-gov- ernmental organisations, includ- ing the student political groups at sixth form, higher secondary and MCAST. "This is why Vote 16 is good news since it will give young peo- ple the space to do and say what they think and believe," he says. The legal changes being contem- plated so far for 16-year-olds limit election participation to voting and not contesting. Azzopardi believes this should be widened. "I am a strong believer that young people should be given the opportunity to contest elec- tions as well. We've had enough of the politics of confrontation that has led to a dichotomised coun- try." Whether youngsters like Jamie can bring a bout of fresh air into the polarising discourse of Mal- tese politics still has to be seen but Azzopardi is optimistic. "I believe young people will give the much-needed respite to the weak dialectic we have become used to in our political landscape and while this change in legisla- tion will be hard for some to fath- om we may very well soon realise the positive impact these new vot- ers will bring about," Azzopardi says. *Jamie is a characterisation of a typical 15-year-old youngster, based on information the author has gleaned from parents of teen- agers. Ten months on, party companies still in breach of Companies Act YANNICK PACE A number of companies belonging to the La- bour and Nationalist parties, including both their media wing are still in breach of the Companies Act for failing to submit audited accounts to the MFSA for several consecutive years. Back in March last year, MaltaToday had re- ported that eight companies – two owned by the Nationalist Party and seven owned by the Labour Party – had not submitted their ac- counts, as required by law, with some compa- nies being in default for as long as 12 years. The law requires companies to keep proper accounting records and to deliver to the com- panies registrar, on a yearly basis, the annual accounts laid, and the auditors' and directors' report. Asked for an explanation, both parties had said that they were in the process of regular- ising their position, however according to the companies register, while they have since filed their annual returns, accounts have not been submitted. This newspaper again reached out to both parties for comment but did not get any closer to an answer. "The necessary work is underway in order for the Labour Party's subsidiaries to regular- ise their position in the shortest time possible," Labour Party CEO Randolph Debattista told MaltaToday. "In light of the fact that the process covers a number of years, it also a laborious process." Replies from the Nationalist Party were not forthcoming by the time of going to print.