Dishonest politics at its best

The EU Commission has ordered the government to cut €40 million of its spending for this year. Following this order, the Opposition asked the government where the cuts were going to be taken from. The government replied by saying that the health, education and welfare services would lay untouched.

The government also said that it would postpone cutting any expenditure till after June as public finances are being managed so prudently that these cuts might not be necessary anyhow.

The truth is finally emerging. Thanks to a Parliamentary Question by Labour MP and spokesman for social Affairs Carmelo Abela, the government last week admitted that it is cutting by €1.4 million the budget of services like Sedqa, Appogg and Sapport groups which will hit the most vulnerable persons in our society badly, like persons with a disability, families facing difficulties and persons trying to rebuild their lives by being assisted to overcome their drug problem.

Government's slogan for the upcoming council elections is to put the family first but now we know that these are empty words.

These agencies were already operating on a tight budget and were not providing the service needed due to lack of funds and resources. Now they have to cut their services.

Government knows that vulnerable people do not organise protest marches. They do not appear on the media. They are too fragmented and are not organised in a lobby group to make their voice heard.

The government does not have money to help these vulnerable people yet it still finds money to pay consultants €6,000 a month, to build a bridge to nowhere costing €3 million and to squander over €4 million in direct orders on the Malta Enterprise Offices at Gwardmangia.

At the same time, while cutting its budget by €40 million, the present Administration has already overspent €61million in January.

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) was right on Wednesday to condemn government's decision to cut the health budget by €8 million. "This goes totally against what has been promised and guaranteed that the €40 million budget cut would not affect the health sector. MUMN cannot understand how the Health Minister can allow such cuts in such a sensitive sector which is already having great difficulties to provide the current services to the Maltese nation."

MUMN said that the lack of investment in health has become the rule of the day:

• Mt Carmel Hospital lacks wards with children for teenagers over 14 and so therefore are being placed with adults. The very old wards of the residential patients are poor. The hospital is without an electrical generator.
• In Mater Dei Hospital there is a great shortage of stretchers, beds and other basic equipment which is causing greater stress on the nursing profession and to the public.
• Investment in the primary healthcare has not materialised in the last three years.

On the shortage of nurses, MUMN said: "After all it was the same government that brought about such shortage of nurses when in 2007 the number of students allowed to follow the nursing courses was limited."

No help for thousands

There are 1,646 children in Maltese schools who have been identified as being dyslexic. Figures released in Parliament last Wednesday show that 1,400 of these children are in state schools, while 246 are in Church and independent schools. The government said that between five per cent and 10% of children can be dyslexic. This means that in local schools only half of children with dyslexia have so far been identified as having this condition.

More than 2,000 children with dyslexia are not being given any support to help them overcome their learning difficulty.

Last week on One TV's 'Realta', Education Minister Dolores Cristina stated that there are 10 people in Malta that have been trained to help children with dyslexia.

Parents often complain that it takes years to have their dyslexic children diagnosed and assisted, if at all. Parents say that their dyslexic children are being branded as failures as many teachers have not been trained to identify dyslexia and to help children learn.

Parents also feel that the present examination system in Malta regularly puts dyslexic children at a disadvantage as it tests them in ways that make them feel inadequate.

The website of the Malta Dyslexia Association says: "As an educator in Malta, you may find that 15 to 20% of the students in your class have a language-related learning disability. You may notice that these students do not participate or they may withdraw or even act out of class, because they do not know how to read, spell or express themselves in oral or written languages. As a matter of fact, their brains process information differently than yours and mine do, so many of today's teaching techniques often do not work for them.

"Did you know that by definition, many people who have been diagnosed as being dyslexic have an average to above average intelligence! It's never too late for children or adults to learn to read."

SRA's appeal

I came across many voters who want to abstain from voting during the local council elections as they are disappointed by their council. While I understand their disappointment I do not agree with their response. Those who are dissatisfied with their councillors should replace them by voting for new candidates. I agree wholeheartedly with the message of the Sliema Residents Association: "Only party political propaganda inhibits voters from voting for candidates from different parties. It is vital for Sliema's residents to get the right team this time round."

SRA appealed to Sliema residents to go out and vote and use the Single Transferable Vote system to choose the best candidates regardless of the party they support. "Evidently, party politics did not guarantee a good working council."

SRA said that the Sliema residents were let down by the recently 'dissolved' council due to the issues and turbulence evident over the past years. "The result of the council's internal problems has severely hindered the work of the local council and wasted precious public funds.  Such circumstances have hurt the reputation of the town and have directly harmed residents' interests in far too many ways."

SRA appealed to the Sliema residents to give due consideration to the candidates' motives and their personal disposition and commitment to serving Sliema.