Yesterday’s parliamentary sitting was suspended and adjourned till today following a quorum check which did not have enough government MPs sitting on the benches during question time.
The conflict had been long in coming.
When parliament met for the first time after the summer recess last week, Labour Whip Joe Mizzi raised an issue regarding questions he had submitted and which had not been put on the order paper until he intervened and the Speaker ensured they were put there.
Nevertheless, the questions he asked were not replied to by Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea until last Tuesday, this happening to be the day when Mr Mizzi, for work reasons, does not go early to parliament. Mr Mizzi thus lost the opportunity to ask Minister Galea supplementary questions.
Mr Mizzi then asked enough questions for yesterday’s sitting and he was there to raise a host of supplementary questions to the minister.
The questions regarded basically three issues, all connected to MMA: a recent appointment of a shipping officer without call for applications, students at MMA for summer, and the setting up of a records management section at MMA.
Mr Galea replied briefly to the first two issues without however being able to answer many of Mr Mizzi’s supplementary questions, which required more details than he had on file. Mr Galea kept insisting that if Mr Mizzi wanted more information, all he had to do was to submit further written questions.
Mr Mizzi, who last week had called for a quorum check when he was dissatisfied with some replies, this time called for a quorum check and, when the five minutes were up, he sustained his request. Since there were not enough government MPs, the House had, according to its rules, to be suspended and the sitting was postponed to today.
Pending trials by jury
There are 39 pending trials by jury, Justice Minister Tonio Borg told Labour MP Chris Cardona.
Under-age children
Between January and August, the police had instituted proceedings against 17 outlet managers after finding 48 under-age children on the premises of entertainment venues, Justice Minister Tonio Borg told Dr Cardona.
In reply to another question by Dr Cardona, the minister said that proceedings had been instituted against 580 persons for smoking where smoking is prohibited.
And in yet another reply, the minister said that over the same time period the police received 41 bomb hoax calls.
Mobile phone subscribers
There are almost as many mobile phone subscribers in Malta as there are people. Communications Minister Censu Galea told Dr Cardona there are 334,221 mobile phone subscribers in Malta.
Out of Court settlement
possibility for school tragedy
Education Minister Louis Galea confirmed to Labour MP Carmelo Abela that an out of court settlement is being sought in the case regarding the death of a St Francis of Assisi student who died when a goalpost fell on him.