Dr Brincat criticised the suspension of supervised access visits by children of a client of his to their father. The access visits had been decided by the court while the suspension of those visits had been decided by Appogg. Dr Brincat asked if Appogg is now higher than the court?
Not so, Ms Cristina replied. She checked with Dr Brincat they were both speaking of the same case. She found out that the father, in this case (Dr Brincat’s client), had been reported to the police many times, had threatened the social workers and that his children did not want to see him. Moreover, Appogg did not decide anything on its own: it reported everything to the judge.
Ms Cristina also deplored and condemned a violent incident which took place last week at the Appogg offices – an event, she said, which left traumatic effects on the other Appogg employees.Society must appreciate what social workers do, it must protect and defend them.
They work in very bad circumstances and have very stressful situations to deal with. There is a high level burn-out among them and are very dedicated persons.
One Opposition MP once told her that care orders are handed out without real regard for the individual’s situation. Now she is a minister, she has entered into the merits of each and every care order and has found that every decision is taken conscientiously.
Many parents in the throes of separation use their children as pawns in their battle, so both parents resent the presence of a stranger, the social worker. A social worker makes it harder for parents to manipulate their children.
There were only 45 supervised care visits in 2000 and 123 now. The budget for this initiative was Lm4,000 in 2000 and is Lm26,000 this year.
Appogg works closely with the Family Court. Judges who admitted they had reservations about the service, now admit they were wrong. One judge even trained Appogg personnel.
Some professionals, Ms Cristina said in her parting shot, are not happy when other professionals enter the sphere they previously considered as their exclusive own. However, the public at large is very satisfied with what Appogg is doing.
Offices 6: Roads 1
Government spends as much as six times more on lighting government offices than on lighting the roads, a minister said yesterday.
Investments Minister Austin Gatt told Mario Galea that Enemalta spent Lm1.3 million on lighting up the roads between October 2002 and September 2003.
Yet, the electricity consumption of government offices, workshops and other establishments between October 2003 and March 2004 was Lm3.9 million.
No discussions with Irish company regarding Maltacom
There are no ongoing discussions with an Irish company or with any other company in view of the Maltacom privatisation, Investment Minister Austin Gatt said.
Dr Gatt was replying to a question by Joe Mizzi. All that has been done with regard to Maltacom, Dr Gatt said, was the appointment of an international consultancy.
The next steps to be taken will focus on which method should be applied for the call for expressions of interest and what parameters should be given. Dr Gatt said he does not want to hasten the process unduly.
PBS sack Italian football expert
Angelo Farrugia asked Investment Minister Austin Gatt why PBS had stopped Oliver Mizzi from reporting on Italian football as he has been doing for the past 30 years.
Dr Gatt replied it is the prerogative of PBS management to take any decisions required to improve the quality of all programmes.
Dr Gatt said the decision regarding Mr Mizzi was taken within the context of reforms in the sports programmes. Mr Mizzi was not replaced. Government, Dr Gatt added, does not interfere in the manner in which PBS programmes are chosen or who presents them. The editorial independence of PBS is a basic part of the existing policy.
PBS editorial board head gets same remuneration as PBS chairman
The chairperson of the PBS editorial board, who is employed on a full-time basis, receives the same remuneration as the chairman of the PBS board of directors, that is Lm684 a month plus refund of phone calls.
This was stated yesterday in Parliament by Investment Minister Austin Gatt who was replying to a question by Carmelo Abela.The chairperson of the editorial board, whose name was not mentioned by Dr Gatt, is Fr Joe Borg.
Originally, Dr Gatt said, this person was recruited as an editorial consultant to the board of directors. However, following the recent reforms, he was asked to act as chairperson of the editorial board.
The reasons for the PBS chairman resignation
Investment Minister Austin Gatt yesterday reacted sharply when Leo Brincat asked him for the “real” reason for the resignation of PBS chairman Michael Mallia.
Dr Gatt objected to the question since it implied that the reasons given earlier were not the “real” reasons. The minister said that, as explained in the press release, some decisions taken by the board and/or the chairman were not in accordance with the guidelines or policies given at the outset.
Dr Gatt said the termination of the PBS chairman’s term of office was decided by the Cabinet after consideration.