Audio converters planned to be distributed among the vision impaired by the National Euro Changeover Committee will not after all be available for distribution, the NECC said yesterday, blaming the Belgian contractor for the failure.

The NECC said the contractor had to make the converters available on 5 November but instead told the NECC that difficulties in programming the audio converter in Maltese meant that the converters would not be delivered on time. The NECC terminated the contract.

The NECC added that it sought alternative ways of making good for the absence of the audio converters. A limited number of audio calculators in English has been ordered to be distributed among those most in need of them. A euro cash test is to be given to all persons who are vision impaired – the plastic tool has been developed to help individuals distinguish the euro coins, and the five, 10 and 20 euro notes.

An informative talking booklet has also been developed by the Central Bank of Malta in cooperation with the European Central Bank, explaining details of security features in euro notes. A radio cassette is also available, and informative publications in Braille may be obtained from the library of the National Commission for Persons with a Disability. Specialised training for vision impaired people will also continue to be given by trained staff.

Further information may be obtained on euro line 154 or by sending an email to [email protected]