Please somebody give the Police Minister a few lessons in costing
The prime minister told us in the election campaign that his political party had a roadmap (konkret) and that this roadmap is “costed”.
If it has been costed the way Manuel Mallia costed his banquet, then disaster awaits the Maltese economy.
Manuel Mallia’s idea of a cost-cutting exercise is to get policemen, who are paid more than waiters, to do a job that waiters would do for less money.
His rubbish reasoning is that the policemen are being paid all the same, whether they are sitting at a station, chasing criminals, or serving food at his banquet. And so, according to his kitchen economics, “ma harigtx izjed flus”.
But that’s not how the banquet will be costed. The true cost of the banquet is reflected in police wages versus waiters’ wages, to say nothing of the rest.
There are a few questions which remain to be asked. Key among them is the obvious: did the Police invoice the Ministry (they are two separate entities, I find it necessary to remind you), and if not, why?
If the Police did invoice the Ministry, as they should, what was the invoice amount?
7 Comments Comment
Leave a Comment
I predict the real ‘cost’ of this government will not be enumerated in monetary terms.
How on earth can the Police invoice anybody for catering services? It would be ultra vires.
Does the Code of Police Laws contemplate catering as one of the Corp’s functions? Not to break the law, they had to do it pro bono.
[Daphne – They can’t do that. Every transaction has to be accounted for. Pro bono work – for charity – is done during officers’ time off. And they had to buy the food. That has to be accounted for.]
How humiliating for the national Police Force! What mediocrity! Back to Mintoff’s era!
One hopes that the roadmap and the banquet were not costed by the same enterprise that will be costing the bridge to Gozo.
It is being said that the police commissioner offered the cheapest quote.
Has anyone obtained any comments from the guests. One thinks that being waited on by policemen dressed as waiters would be of interest to the guests. It certainly would give them a better indication of the climate in the country.
In today’s statement the police said that the Police were paid extra. This probably means overtime which means that you need to compare the cost of a waiter against the overtime cost of a policeman. I think it’s slightly more.