Archive for Issue 321
EU long-term budget deal must be improved for Parliament to accept it
In a resolution on the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council meeting of 17-21 July 2020, adopted by 465 votes against 150, with 67 abstentions, MEPs paid tribute to the victims of…
Mobility Projects for Vocational, Education and Training (VET) Learners and Staff through EU Funds
The Erasmus + programme is the main EU funding programme that deals with education, training, youth and sport. Amongst others, Erasmus+ provides the opportunity of mobility projects for VET learners and staff which may include one or more of…
Clientelism is a system deeply ingrained in our mentality
The cliental system is ingrained not just in Maltese politics but in the Maltese mentality. Clientelism is one of Malta’s societal ills enabling corruption and endangering democracy. Beneficiaries of clientelistic networks do…
We are being too reactive to the pandemic
If we were to analyze the actions taken by government in the first and second waves of the pandemic, we would conclude that the decisions taken on the two were different from each other. One recalls the decisions announced by government in recent months which were described with respect to the medical advice provided by the Health Authorities. The population of these islands had obeyed the advice propagated by public health specialists. Hence, collective discipline prevailed. In the first wave of the pandemic, the government was commended, particlularly by the World Health Organisation (WHO), for keeping the number of cases low. Subsequently, when we laxed the active cases began to rise again. The rush to get the economy back on its feet exasperated the WHO’s warnings to countries not to let go of their controls. What happened? Our country had responded to the demands of entrepeneurs, people in business and hoteliers, thereby failing to listen to the advice of the health authorities. Consequently, we witnessed a lot of confusion in the way things were communicated and discipline quickly fell apart. Cases have accumulated rapidly. We were told to enjoy summer. Several people quickly took off their masks and had fun at parties and entertainment venues. This has led to an explosion of COVID-19 cases and the government has now reacted by announcing new measures. This is not the way how to address the second wave of the pandemic. Government is being more reactive to the situation than active and is not taking the situation seriously. The well-being of workers and the most vulnerable is at stake. What concrete precautions are being taken to keep these people safe? In addition, social distancing must still be maintained at all times and those who disobey must be punished. Enforcement must be strong, serious and consistent whilst there should be no exceptions for violators. Let us be mature and use our common sense. Meanwhile, Voice of the Workers continues to urge the government to do more to control the virus before it has fatal effects on both the vulnerable and the country’s economy.