{"id":7051,"date":"2023-10-27T10:02:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T08:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/?post_type=article&p=7051"},"modified":"2023-10-27T10:02:54","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T08:02:54","slug":"kolluzjoni-tal-prima-klassi","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/article\/kolluzjoni-tal-prima-klassi\/","title":{"rendered":"Collusion of the first order"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The once-touted \u2018real deal\u2019 that saw the transfer of three State hospitals \u2013 St Luke\u2019s, Karin Grech and Gozo – to Vitals and subsequently Steward has now been exposed as a blatant betrayal of public trust. This deal, orchestrated through collusion between Steward and high-ranking government officials, was not designed to provide quality healthcare but served hidden agendas. As taxpayers we forked out \u20ac256 million, over and above employees\u2019 salaries, of which there is no trace. Money does not grow on trees but neither does it vanish in thin air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The civil court had already invalidated the deal, citing deception by one party and cunning by the other. The appeals court went further, highlighting the unreached milestones due to collusion. Instead of safeguarding national interests, authorities extended the deal, perpetuating the facade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At best, this deal showcases incompetence, spineless officials, neglect of duty, and oath violations. It demands political and administrative accountability. The appeals court hinted at ulterior motives superseding national interests, a fact the Auditor General had earlier flagged. Despite this, the ruling party hesitated, defending the indefensible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government\u2019s response seems more like panic. Their claim to protect national interests now rings hollow, considering how those interests were sacrificed for selfish gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justice demands holding all involved accountable and reclaiming their ill-gotten gains. The government\u2019s mere control of the hospitals is insufficient; the real issue must be tackled head-on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nationalist Party is right in demanding accountability, but that\u2019s just the beginning. Law enforcement and the attorney general must swiftly prosecute the officials mentioned by the appeals court. Those responsible, including former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and heads of government agencies, must bear the financial burden for this legal battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The list of culprits likely extends beyond those named in court. Taxpayers, innocent in this scandal, will bear the financial burden. This scandal, perhaps the most significant of our time, should dominate public discourse for months. In any normal country, it might trigger elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UHM Voice of the Workers had sounded the alarm bells from the very beginning. Throughout this saga there were times when it was intentionally left isolated together with the doctors\u2019 union for standing up to be counted. The union\u2019s stand has been vindicated but unfortunately, employees who had been engaged by Vitals and Steward are still waiting for justice. Though they were finally transferred on government\u2019s books (they should have been engaged by the health ministry in the first place) they are still being discriminated against as their years of service with the concessionaire have not been retained. Hence, their take-home pay compared to colleagues on government books is lower. This is just one aspect of the Vitals-Steward legacy. Our last hope is that the issue is settled once and for all by the courts.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While that seems unlikely here, citizens must exert pressure. The diagnosis is clear; now, the nation needs treatment. It\u2019s time for justice to prevail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The once-touted \u2018real deal\u2019 that saw the transfer of three State hospitals \u2013 St Luke\u2019s, Karin Grech and Gozo – to Vitals and subsequently Steward has now been exposed as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":7052,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":""},"issuem_issue":[345],"issuem_issue_categories":[7],"issuem_issue_tags":[],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.8.8","language":"en","enabled_languages":["mt","en"],"languages":{"mt":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/7051"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7051"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/7051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7056,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/7051\/revisions\/7056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue?post=7051"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_categories?post=7051"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_tags?post=7051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}