Taghna Lkoll: 18 people travel to Copenhagen for 10 days and only six of them are the Eurovision band
Another good report in The Malta Independent this morning. Eighteen people travelled to Copenhagen on full expenses paid by Public Broadcasting Services, and only six of them were the band.
They included the Labour mayor of Zurrieq, Natius Farrugia, who despite having his expenses paid by TVM/PBS gave live updates to the Labour Party’s television station, (Super) One TV. And then there was the Labour Party’s Deo Grech, whose trip was paid by TVM/PBS but who reported for the General Workers Union news site, iNews.
The freeloading delegation included, too, the Minister of Police, the Army and Broadcasting’s communication aide, Ramona Attard. The PBS chairman, Tonio Portughuese, was there the entire time – tying Firelight’s shoelaces, perhaps?
And instead of taking their own cameraman, PBS hired one from Where’s Everybody, and also took along, all expenses paid, Where’s Everybody director and shareholder Mark Vassallo, a Labour lawyer who is in partnership, in his law practice, with Economy Minister Chris Cardona. Or was, until Chris Cardona became a government minister last year. That bit you won’t get from The Malta Independent’s report.
Mark Vassallo, Chris Cardona’s law partner, has been a director and shareholder of Where’s Everybody all along, which means that when the Labour Party and its media machine spent years faking anger and fomenting discord about how Where’s Everybody ‘gets’ shows on TVM, it carefully concealed the fact that one of its own people, a law partner of one of its own members of parliament, was benefiting too.
Where I disagree with The Malta Independent’s report is in the way it says that Minister Manuel Mallia was “correct” to join the delegation only on the eve of the show. He shouldn’t have gone at all. His presence was neither necessary nor appropriate. He is a cabinet minister and not an impresario.
I disagree, too, with the “conservative estimate” The Malta Independent has made of what this delegation cost in terms of flights, hotels and per diem allowances: Eur40,000. Eighteen people for 10 days is 180 bednights. You can’t get a decent hotel room in Copenhagen for less than Eur250 a night and Eur450 would be closer to the mark when the Eurovision is on and hotel nights are sold at a premium. But let’s go with the lowest rate of Eur250 x 180 = Eur45,000.
That’s Eur45,000 on hotel nights alone, before you begin adding the flights for 18 people – at least Eur600 each, which means around another Eur11,000. And then you have your per diem allowances, which at a very conservative estimate would be Eur100 (x18 pax x 10 days), so let’s say roughly another Eur18,000.
That conservative estimate is looking more like Eur74,000. PBS generated Eur60,000 in advertising revenue from the show, and there’s still all the costs back home to be calculated.
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http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-05-12/news/18-strong-maltese-delegation-basks-at-eurovision-on-taxpayers-money-4958650371/
Imbagħad il-PBS ma kelliex flus biex ittellgħa l-Junior Eurovision song Festival lokali u ntagħżlet kantanta ċkejkna mingħajr ma kien hemm festival bejn kantanti żgħar oħra biex tingħażel l-aħjar waħda/wieħed….dejjem skont kif qalu l-PBS għax ma kienx hemm flus.
Għal fejn iridu għandhom flus tal-PBS. U mhux ftit ukoll. Kulħadd jiffanga.
P.B.S are constantly whining that the company is bleeding.
They pay their contributors a pittance after many months, and after repeated phone calls by the contributors themselves.
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-05-12/news/wanted-70-cleaners-to-work-for-government-4958650372/
These are jobs which Maltese unemployed do not want to do but prefer to remain on social security benefits. If these 70 cleaners are really needed why not offer them to migrants?
While on this subject I wonder how much are the migrant workers who work with the door-to-door rubbish collection contractors are actually paid? And what about their NI contributions ? Or are they being exploited?
Deo Grech is a teacher at the Ghaxaq Primary School.
What sort of leave was he given to attend the Eurovision for 10 days? How did the head of school permit it during term-time?
He gave a very good example jumping around with Natius Farrugia after the Maltese song was presented.
Deo Grech did not have to seek permission – he is the head of school himself.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152090075766240&set=a.459041726239.247970.561181239&type=1&theater
How old was he when he graduated?
I knew it, I just didn’t have it confirmed.
Don’t know whether a head of school is supposed to leave for 10 days on a state funded holiday, reporting for the GWU website.
Actually he will have asked for permission from the Director of Education. That’s the practice at any government department.
One cannot up and go as one pleases, more so for a head of school.
It’s at the discretion of the director to grant or withhold leave of absence.
Pippa, I don’t know which bloody sane administration would grant a head of a school 10 days leave to engage into something completely unrelated to his job description.
“Il-Genn Taghna Wkoll”
Hallas PBS!
Natius and Deo were there at PBS’s expense while reporting for other entities! The minister? Was he there as a supporting act? Ramona Attard? Mark Vassallo? What was their role there?
The newspaper must insist on getting the proper and sensible answers to these questions.
They sent that huge delegation and then PBS’s live commentary came live from…Malta.
Finally, I happened to watch part of Xarabank last Friday and watched the various features through the week. Did I understand correctly that their voice coach was left here in Malta and they conducted rehearsals via Skype? Are we serious?
They pay for Natius to go with them but leave the voice coach behind?
So who was minding Grand Harbour?
Fejn hu l-ghaqal tal-gvern ta’ Muscat?
Who booked the tickets and hotels, Hamilton Travel?
How many more decades will it take for this new Roman Empire (with the corruption and stratified society but not the art and the finesse) to smash the country to smithereens?
It’s a case of “Kollox Taghna” instead of “Taghna Llkoll.”
I suspect that they translated the #JoinUs logo of the Copenhagen Eurovision into “#EJJA maghna” and took it too literally.
Natius Farrugia was there to learn and observe for next year. Rumour has it, that given the trend of the winners, the most ridicolous act wins and Malta will be represented by Natious dressed in a wedding gown singing a revised version of ‘Like a Virgin’.
Not to mention that last year’s successful and experienced team was not part of this delegation this year! why change the winning horse and send incompetant people who think waving and smiling is enough to succeed.
Why do Labour ministers make it a point to get us a ‘Laughing stock of Europe’ tag at every opportunity? I mean it’s already bad enough on the local front that Dr Mallia takes time off to attend what is at best a song festival and at worst a ….. But what does that say of us as a country when third parties learn that the Minister no less, has turned up in person? Was he daft enough to tell the organisers that he was joining in?
What are we to expect come the Junior Eurovision later on this year? A re-enactment of a Roman arena with Dr Muscat and Dr Mallia taking turns as the emperor giving the thumbs up or thumbs down sign?
Teachers need the consent of their head teacher and the college principal to travel abroad.
Then they need to ask for the permission of the Director for Human Resources, Mr Micallef, a Labour voter who was put in this position by the Nationalist government when meritocracy was really practised.
Mr Micallef is known for being very difficult in granting permission even for travel which is school related, such as exchanges under the Comenius/Erasmus projects. Also, teachers (correctly) have to ensure that they catch up with all their missed lessons once they are back at school.
How Deo Grech was given permission to travel to Copenhagen for the Eurovision Song Contest during term time when he is head of school, is a big mystery.
U msieken John Bundy u Grace Borg jeqirdu fuq Facebook u jiddixxaw il-hdura fuq Anton Attard.
So much funds to spend for the inner circle while top government officials within the civil service are being precluded to travel and attend important EU meetings in Brussels and elsewhere citing lack of funds as the reason.
Ramona? X’telghet taghmel? And Deo? Dan kollu ghax jaghmel programm fuq il-Eurovision.
Tela biex jidher ixejjer il-bandiera. That’s why we did badly, as the majority of the team were there for their own sake and not to promote the song.
Meetings with the juries of various countries is not enough. The song had to be promoted in various countries so we get the televoters on our side. But this year NO promotion at all.
Basta ghamlu video tad-dwejjaq. Sorry Malta – BIG FAIL this year. Konna sejrin ‘il quddiem bil-mod. But this year 100 pass lura.
Sew qed tghid siehbi.
A video about war? People don’t like to be reminded about anything to do with war.
Had the video been represented by the gay community who voted for the ‘Taghna Lkoll’ propaganda, who recently flocked to St. George’s Square in hundreds, to celebrate their rights, something they’ve been enjoying for years, we probably would have done better than Concita.