It wouldn’t be so bad if we were getting value for money. But we’re not.
The Nationalist Party has whipped out its calculator and worked out that Muscat’s cabinet costs the country €20.1 million a year – €8.5 million a year more than Gonzi’s cabinet.
Over five years, more than €100 million will be spent on Muscat’s cabinet – €42 million more than was spent on Gonzi’s.
Beppe Fenech Adami, speaking for the PN, said that those €42 million could have been used to build five schools, or pay the salaries of 444 teachers, 532 nurses and 570 learning support assistants.
The cost is not only due to the increased number of cabinet minister and parliamentary secretaries, but also to their vastly inflated private secretariats and to the consultants they have engaged.
More than two-thirds of those put on the state payroll in the private secretariats of ministers and parliamentary secretaries come from outside the civil service (for example, from Super One TV, the Labour Party’s television station), and so add to the cost of the state payroll.
Now compare this to the fuss the Labour Party made, when in Opposition, about the aborted ‘hames mitt ewro fil-gimgha’.
The government reacted to this by using the Labour Party’s slogan: “It is thanks to the positive energy of this cabinet that Malta is moving forward as a land of opportunity, equality and innovation.”
If you think that is the most incredible cheek, then wait for the next bit: “This government has succeeded in bringing out progress in the quality of life of the people and in improving the business environment.”
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He was speaking taht his tinda yesterday, surrounded by youngsters, ministers and their Romanian wives, mentioned something about unemployment fraud, that it has to stop.
Oh well, if people can pay bribes to steal electricity, they can at least keep away from the ETC.
He also made an emphasis on price stability and how this will help entrepreneurs plan ahead; so why is he proposing raising national insurance and ‘topping up’ minimum wage in May? The first supposedly agreed to with stakeholders, which it obviously isn’t.
One also has to see how this minimum wage topping will affect those who are already being paid the total amount, ie minimum wage and top up, won’t it create a group of people who’ll pay taxes and a new group who’ll get the same amount but who won’t?
It’s a bit like telling everyone to declare minimum wage, get the rest in cash and apply for the scheme.
Very….Neapolitan.
Spot on, we have exactly the same opinion, but I am sure that Mr L Spiteri, and all other pl professors of economics will write that we are wrong.
I’ve been over this, so I’ll keep it brief.
Tinkering with the minimum wage achieves nothing.
Out of the assembled throngs of politicians, both Labour and PN, only Helga Ellul has understood this.
What’s with all the hair?
Prim ministru ta’ żewġ soldi.
A true ‘Faccia di bronzo’!
Change ‘bronzo’ to ‘stronzo’ please – more appropriate and retains the same colour
“This government has succeeded in bringing out progress in the quality of life of the people and in improving the business environment.”
I suggest that some journalist with a cameraman in tow should go to Malta’s industrial areas and interview the variety of self-employed tradesmen to ask them about their orders for next month, payments they are owed and whether any minister has taken any initiatives to re-generate their businesses.
http://maltarightnow.com/news/2014/05/03/filmat-festival-agrarju-tal-patata-fil-qrendi/
I really admire this young entrepreneur who through sheer hard work and business acumen grabbed the opportunities which the EU presented to him, and is making a success in his field of business.
Eleven years ago Michael surely did not have a say in the EU referendum, but if Joseph Muscat had got his way, Michael would be probably an ordinary farmer exporting potatoes to Holland through the monopoly of the agriculture department ONCE A YEAR, in April when the EU potato import market is still open for Malta, at a government ‘negotiated’ fixed price which would be known AFTER the crop is exported.
No need to say that payments were effected around November-December which would be the time when the poor beggars start sowing the crop for the coming April.
Ah, the golden years!
X’memorji gibtli, Gahan! Fi tfuliti kont inkun (imgieghel) nigbor il-patata ma’ ommi, missieri w huti, ghax jien ukoll gej minn dak l-ambjent. Tajjeb jew hazin, jien hadt triq ohra, mhux l-inqas minhabba li l-genituri dejjem hajruni u ghenuni biex nistudja.
Ninghaqad mieghek biex insellem u nawgura lil Michael u lil dawk kollha fil-qasam agrikolu li, minkejja l-biza’ u l-qtigh il-qalb li xerred il-partit laburista kontra s-shubija fl-UE, ma qatghux qalbhom u gharfu jilqghu l-isfida u jdawruha f’opportunita’ ta’ success ghalihom u ghall-pajjiz.
Ħa nkompli inġeddidlek aktar il-memorji:
Min jaf kemm qomna kmieni f’xi s-sitta ta’ fil-għodu nhar ta’ Sibt fi żmien il-Ġimgħa l-Kbira biex immorru niġbru il-patata ,wara xi ħmara bil-moħriet jew ħdejn missieri bil-furkettun.Niġbru l-patata fi gżuż u ngħattuha bil-faxxina biex ma tiħdarx. Il-patata li kienet tintlaqat bix-xafra tal-moħriet jew tal-furkettun ta’ missieri konna niġbruha biex ommi kienet issajarha il-forn ma’ xi biċċa majjal imħawra bil-basal mill-aħdar, tursin,bużbież u tewm frisk…kollox minn tagħna.
Min jaf kemm il-darba il-patata marritlu bil-ġlata għalkemm missieri u jien inkunu bixxejniha bil-kupru. X’ħassra tara kull patata daqs il-ponn t’idek sewda jew mifqugħa!
Imbgħad trid tarana nimlewha ,ara ma twaddabiex mil-bogħod għax tobroxha u ma jaċċetawhiex ,l-irqieqa inwarbuha għaż-żerriegħa tax-xitwa biex tinzergħa f’Settembru u għax ma tgħaddix mil-“grading”,il-ħadra ma jriduhiex allura tmur għaż-żerriegħa wkoll, u l-bqija timtela’ fl-ixkejjer li jkun tagħna s-sensar minn qabel u li wara li jkun rahom mimlijin sew , jaqbad l-imsella bl-ispaga fiha u jħit l-ixkora .Kien hemm min jgħid li wara li kien jeħodha fil-maħzen tiegħu ,kien jerġa jiftaħ l-ixkejjer u jimla’ xi tnejn jew tlieta oħra minnhom. Kien hemm min jieħu l-istasija l-għalqa u jiżen il-patata ,xkora, xkora. Wara li kienet tinġarr fuq l-ispalla biex titgħabba fil-vann tas-sensar li jkun ipparkjat xi żewgt għelieqi ‘l-fuq ,is-sensar mgħaġġel kien jiktiblu fuq xi karta kemm inkunu imlejna xkejjer.”Ġibtu l-ktieb tar-raba’?”
Missieri kien jibgħatni għand il-piżatur biex jiffirmalna xi karta.
“Ajma dahri kif qed inħossu” wara li nkun għamilt xi ġurnata fix-xemx niġbor il-patata mgħawweġ ganċ!
Min jaf kemm mort biex niġbru d-demel mil-gallinar tagħna u inġorruh għal-għalqa fuq xi karettun tal-idejn u inferrxuh b’idejna bla ingwanti ! Dik intiena, tiftaħlek imnifsejk!”
Min jaf kemm ‘il-xkora tal-faxx ta’ zerriegħa tal-patata tal-qatgħa safra jew tal-qatgħa bajda minn tal-Irlanda ,qattajna ! “Kemm fiha għejjun!”
Illum bdiewa bħal Michael it-taqtiegħ taż-żerriegħa jsir bil-magna ,il-ġarr u t-tferrix tad-demel bit-“tractor”, tisqija bil-friefer minn ġo xi kamra bl-apparat għal-kimika bil-kompjuter, jew minn bowser apposta ikkontrollat bil-kompjuter minn rokna tal-għalqa, il-qlugħ tal-patata bit-tractor apposta u l-ġbir għadu bl-idejn. L-apparat kollu mixtri bl-għajnuna tal-fondi mil-Unjoni Ewropeja.Michael m’għandux bżonn sensara , jinnegozja HU dirett max-xerrej Ewropew daqsu.M’għadux tallab!
Qed tħossu dahrek?
It is worth noting that even if the €500 per week claim was true, it would have added €962,000 to the total bill (8 ministers for 2 years and 7 for the remaining 3) for 5 years. Compare that to the €42,500,000 Joey has added.
In reality it was the parliamentary honoraria at €387 per week (€20110 per minister per annum), which would have come to €744070 in 5 years.
Joey’s increase is 57 times as much.
Spelling it out helps sometimes.
Unfortunately mathematics are lost on the vast majority of Labour supporters.
Finally a good move from the PN. Very clear and well researched criticism in the form of a press conference.
We need more of these eye-openers especially for those who believed Joseph Muscat’s promises and switched.
I refer back to a calculation by ‘Field of Miracles’ quantifying the total impact of the 2 cents reduction in the price of petrol on Malta’s annual petrol consumption at Eur 2.4 million.
So Muscat has given Eur 2.4 million per year to 400,000 Maltese people to share between them.
But then he could afford an EXTRA Eur 8.5 million per year for the 23 members of his cabinet to share between themselves over and above what the cabinet used to cost in the previous administration.
Land of opportunity, equality and innovation indeed, we have with this cabinet.
The two euro cents coin should reminted to commemorate Two Cents Joe.
Tagħtuhx ideat li ma jmurx ifettillu jibda jagħmel wiċċu fuq il-flus għax ikollna nitqannew bih il-ħin kollu! Mamma mia.
Timmaginak iggorru kullimkien mieghek fil-but?