Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/960495
maltatoday SUNDAY 1 APRIL 2018 2 News TIA RELJIC A €5 million donation to a chil- dren's hospice charity from the Maltese government yesterday became the subject of controver- sy, after Opposition parties railed against the Prime Minister's in- tervention during a telethon. Joseph Muscat's 'donation' of €5 million to the Puttinu Cares fun- draiser on Friday was lambasted by critics and lauded by his sup- porters, over the fact that the money was said to hail from the controversial sale of Maltese citi- zenships in the Individual Inves- tor Programme. 70% of the IIP's revenues are hived off to a posterity fund called the National Development and Social Fund, which recently acquired a majority stake in Lom- bard Bank, while the remaining 30% are placed inside the govern- ment's consolidated fund. Late into the night on Friday, as the audience was celebrating reaching the €1.6 million in do- nations collected, Xarabank host Peppi Azzopardi took a live tel- ephone call from Muscat – who is in Australia meeting Maltese migrants – where he announced that €5 million from the IIP rev- enues would be donated to the Puttinu Cares Foundation. Puttinu Cares is currently seek- ing to build 30 apartments in central London to accommodate the families of patients seeking treatment. Every month, around 90 Maltese patients travel to the UK with their families for medi- cal care, and the funds raised on Friday would ensure that they adequate accommodation is pro- vided for. But Opposition MPs and critics were quick to lambast the Prime Minister's announcement as a way of justifying the passports- for-cash scheme. Nationalist MP Beppe Fenech Adami, a cancer survivor, said he was "insulted and disgusted" by the donation, labelling it an at- tempt to justify the way the mon- ey was collected in the first place. He said the implication was that passports need to be sold to the "corrupt" and to "criminals" in order for cancer patients to re- ceive treatment. His colleague Jason Azzopardi even went as far as likening the action to the Italian Mafia boss Toto Riina's own donations to charity money obtained through crime. And former PN leader Simon Busuttil addressed his tweet to the Prime Minister, saying "we don't have to sell our soul or our citizenship for you to do your du- ty and provide full health care for cancer patients." But the Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia struck a more cau- tious tone to that of his vocifer- ous parliamentary group. "We must bind ourselves to build these apartments in Lon- don so that cancer sufferers will have a place to stay in during the worst of moments. I believe we must see what the national health service's needs are in its entirety, and that we must give more to who has the least, the elderly, the poor, the sick and those in need. "Let's leave charity to those who know it and value it the most, the thousands of volunteers, NGOs, people and big-hearted citizens who give all they can." Echoing a similar sentiment was the Democratic party (PD) leader Anthony Buttigieg, who wrote on Facebook that the €5 million was money that belonged to taxpay- ers, "not some super act of gen- erosity on the part of the Prime Minister". "After years of a budget surplus and unprecedented economic growth, do you think there should be any need for a charity like Put- tinu Cares?" Buttigieg asked. PD MP Godfrey Farrugia wrote that medical services should fall under the public healthcare sys- tem, and not depend on charity. "The Prime Minister is not genu- ine in this regard," he said. His partner and MP Marlene Farru- gia also chimed in on the subject on Facebook. "The Prime Minis- ter's duty is not to give to charity, but to make sure that no family on his watch would need charity." As expected, the MPs' state- ments were met with political backlash. Labour MP Edward Zammit-Lewis tweeted that "ba- sic decency would evoke a com- mon front and unity, especially for those in need, and on Good Friday," criticising Jason Azzo- pardi's comments in particular. Labour MP Rosianne Cuta- jar accused Azzopardi of having presided over "scandalous deals" when he was a minister for public lands, citing it as the "real insult". Labour MP Glenn Bedingfield referred to comments by the PN MPs as "cold-hearted and bit- ter", while Robert Musumeci, the government's consultant on planning laws, wrote that it was "simply not on" for people to be cynical about the Prime Minis- ter's contribution. In a post he later deleted, Fi- nance Minister Edward Scicluna tweeted that the contribution was not, in fact, coming from the IIP Fund. "They are coming from the budget and being spent on a deserving project affecting many Maltese and Gozitan families." While Muscat said that the money was hailing from the NDSF, finance minister Edward Scicluna yesterday posted on Fa- cebook – later deleted – that the money hailed from the govern- ment's consolidated fund. ALS campaigner Bjorn Formosa welcomed the donation, saying that irrespective of people's opin- ion about the Labour administra- tion "rarely have we seen such in- itiatives being backed so strongly by the government..." "We need to put politics aside! Many may argue that the govern- ment may take political advantage from the live announcement on Mal- ta's most followed TV programme but that's not really important. "The only important thing is that there are kids with cancer and families who will find ad- equate care and accommodation to deal with their immense suf- fering. [The] important issue is that when you and I will be in need, we will find the adequate care." tia.reljic@mediatoday.com.mt PM's €5m 'passports' donation raises Opposition's hackles ALS campaigner Bjorn Formosa called for people to put politics aside, welcoming the €5 million donation On Friday night, the Puttinu Cares telethon had reached €1.6 million, surpassing 2017's record collection. But the figure went up to €6.6 million with the grant from the Maltese government "Let's leave charity to those who know it and value it the most, the thousands of volunteers, NGOs, people and big-hearted citizens who give all they can" Adrian Delia