Medicine importers have no funds to buy supplies
Medicine importers said this afternoon they may have to stop importing medicine because of a lack of cash flow.
Addressing a news conference, Reginald Fava, the president of the Chamber of Commerce section representing distributors of medicines, perfumes and medical equipment, said importers were facing major difficulties because the government was not paying them for the medicine they supplied.
To make matters worse, on Monday they had to pay their value added tax returns and today week their provisional tax.
Mr Fava said that they discussed the matter with Social Development Minister John Dalli but there was no money to pay them before the beginning of next year.
Mr Fava said that as a result of this situation the importers risked having to stop importing these medicines because they lacked the cash flow to pay for the goods.
They would not do this out of choice but because they would not be able to do otherwise.
Mr Fava said that the present financial situation was making the situation worse because suppliers were asking for cash in advance.
Importers, who were about 30, he said, were owed between €25 million and €30 million.
This situation, he said, could only be solved if there was a specific allocation in the year’s budget
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cassari
Dec 13th 2008, 10:13
ma niflahx nisma aktar. imnalla ghandna il mater dei fejn nistrieh
Andrew Cachia
Dec 13th 2008, 06:51
one needs to go deeper in to the saga to be able to solve the problem which has been building up, It seems that the department is clearly to blame due to incompitence and nepostism and interests. scrap the present organization and bring in people who are qualified and have the necessary experience to administer the health system which will guarantee free medicines for all.!! its the only way
Leo said
Dec 13th 2008, 06:46
[How about turning the question around? For how long have the importers had it good to the detriment of all local patients and consumers? Have we forgotten it all?]
@ Karl Stagno-Navarra
Sir, I do not know you, but kindly allow me to remind you that the party, which you vehemently support, has following slogan, which accounts for the problematic status quo in Malta:
Flimkien Kollox Possibli
Indeed, a state of the art country (MaltaRightNow).
Miskina Malta!
Leo Said
Dec 13th 2008, 06:35
[Could it be that, the contract that people like Reginald Fava have signed after being awarded the tender for the importation of medicines, stipulates that he is duty bound to import very important medicines, irrespective from the problems they encounter, like not being paid in time?]
@ A.Vassallo
Importers of medical products are essentially business people, whose prime goal is to make profit, or at least break financially even.
Importers do not only have a contract/tender with government. They will also have a contract with their (foreign) suppliers.
Importers will therefore have to settle their accounts with their (foreign) suppliers, who are most probably better acquainted with business procedures than any Maltese government could ever be.
No money, no goods, no trade!
No national government has the power to oblige/force any of its citizens to make individual, private debts amounting to millions of euros.
A. Vassallo
Dec 12th 2008, 21:04
@ Leo Said
Could it be that, the contract that people like Reginald Fava have signed after being awarded the tender for the importation of medicines, stipulates that he is duty bound to import very important medicines, irrespective from the problems they encounter, like not being paid in time?
E. Vassallo
Dec 12th 2008, 20:57
@karl stagno navarra
You're right spot on.
Mike Farrugia
Dec 12th 2008, 20:38
If the health dept. is really in this sorry state, why did it spend millions of Euros on equipment that is never going to be used at Mater dei hospital? Why are certain areas equipped more than X 3 and 4 the number of workers working in that area?
And what about illegal immigrants? Why are they all entitled for free medicines even when they have a job?
Accountability?
James Sultana
Dec 12th 2008, 20:23
@J Farrugia: Stop repeating the "nothing comes for free" song sung by your faithful party - IT DOESN`T COME FOR FREE : We pay what is called NATIONAL INSURANCE - 10% of our basic wage plus the same amount paid by our employers. Health system is also financed through that !
@ Karl Stagno-Navarra : No dear Karl, we haven`t forgotten all. We haven`t forgotten that the medicines bought by the government are done THROUGH A TENDER SYSTEM. Its the government that accepts tose kind of prices. If "they" had it so good, why didn`t the government issue an international tender and buy from suppliers abroad ?
You know why dear Karl ? Because the government prefers to overpay but with the benefit of paying years later, than buying cheaper from other suppliers at the "expense" of having to pay on time- and that is why the government NEVER ENFORCED MEDICINE PRICES : HE KNEW THAT IF HE ENFORCED THE FAIR PRICES THEY WOULD ENFORCE THE PAYMENT ACCORDING TO CONTRACTS !!
If they had it so good for so long, only the authorities are to blame, and no need to tell you who these are, no?
R.Gauci
Dec 12th 2008, 20:22
I don't wonder why medicines are so much expensive in Malta and even basic medicines are more expensive then abroad where wages are more!!
From where the importers have to get the money to pay the interest rates for such huge money they are owned by the goverment for so long time? Its not the right excuse especially when we are speaking about a sector which is used especially by vulnerable people in society which is already hard for them to face their ilnesses or diseases but business is business!!
Does someone borrows you money without interest after all!!
A. Camilleri
Dec 12th 2008, 19:59
Mr. Mario Camilleri, this is a serious situation, and one which we are sure the parties concerned are following up closely as some remedy simply must be found very soon. Importers are said to be owed one million each - wow, quite a sum! We hope Mr. Fava will soon report positive developments, as the health of the people is certainly not something anyone can fiddle about with, even during this very awkward world crisis!!
Deo Catania
Dec 12th 2008, 19:59
Third world stuff!!!!! but according to our dear government we are living in paradise.
Leo Said
Dec 12th 2008, 19:33
[Who is to take responsibility in case of illnesses, serious illnesses, strokes, heart attacks etc. etc. or even deaths suffered through lack of medicines on the market?
Who is to be sued in such cases, the Government or the importers?]
@ A.Vassallo
Importers are not employees of the nation (civil servants) and as such cannot be held responsible.
Government is responsible for legislation and implementation of health policies and practice.
In Malta, government has the Minister with Portfolio for Health, the Minister's Parliamentary Secretary, a Director General Health, a Director for Hospital Affairs, a CEO at Mater Dei, Medical Superintendants at Mater Dei and at other hospitals, as well as a Foundation for Medical Services.
It should be opportune to remember that not long ago "Autonomy" for hospitals was the magic formula.
Indeed, the former Minister of Health once instructed his then Communications Officer to write in the Times of Malta that Leo Said was about the only person, who did not understand the concept of autonomy, which was envisaged by the minister.
Autonomy has now been replaced by INSOLVENCY !
michael fenech
Dec 12th 2008, 19:25
And yet GonziPN have 80M euros for a new parliament building.
I WOULD SAY THAT GONZI'SPN PRIORITIES ARE A BIT OFF TO SAY THE LEAST.
Leo Said
Dec 12th 2008, 19:12
"Medicine importers said this afternoon they may have to stop importing medicine because of a lack of cash flow ...........
Mr Fava said that they discussed the matter with Social Development Minister John Dalli but there was no money to pay them before the beginning of next year ...........
Importers, who were about 30, he said, were owed between €25 million and €30 million".
INDEED A STATE OF THE ART !!!
WHAT A SCANDAL !!!
albert spiteri
Dec 12th 2008, 18:59
That's capitalism! These handfull of importers threaten a government and hold a country at ransom. They've been making everybody pay more than twice the prices anywhere else in the EU, and now this! But of course, with this GONZIPN hubby-government they can do all that, and more, with impunity. There is an answer to all this: nationalize medicine importation and reintroduce bulk-buying.
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Dec 12th 2008, 18:53
How about turning the question around? For how long have the importers had it good to the detriment of all local patients and consumers? Have we forgotten it all?
Ronnie Agius
Dec 12th 2008, 18:52
If the PL was elected in goverment was to face these crisis, but like what the opposition leader Dr. Joseph Muscat said that 'min xarbu l-bakkaljaw qed ixommu' a maltese proverb which is the same about this situasion and other more.
Joseph Casha
Dec 12th 2008, 18:46
I guess they will have to wait till next year so the government has enough time to collect the money from the new utility tariffs
philip pace
Dec 12th 2008, 18:38
If and I repeat myself if this is the real situation then the present Government is not fit to govern anymore.
This is a serious and grave situation that should have been addressed a long time ago but probably as in many cases it was swept under the carpet as the Maltese would make up for the financial disaster that we are in by paying more taxes that are always invented to gather more money to make up for the past losses.
It looks to me that the way that the Government works when a system fails due to inadequate people who produce mismanagements, some bright spark come up with a solution to create another tax to fill in the empty coffer.
A case in point is the tax set at .15c imposed on plastic bags but somebody from Ireland saw nothing wrong in it as they pay 22c over there having a better pay packet than us and then in Belgium they pay only 1c where again the pay packet over there is very much superior than ours!
Not to give out the overdue monies owed to these importers is a mean and cruel way to govern.
Jannie Hartmann
Dec 12th 2008, 18:36
Malta and Gozo are a wonderful countries however the downfall to us outsiders residing in your countriy for our retirement is the price of medicines one has to pay , its ridiculous, i have just returned from my homeland and compared the cost of an item i normally buy from a local chemist and the same item in Holland and you know what it was actually a third of the price of what i was paying over here..How can the people of malta and Gozo pay such a high price for imported medicines is beyond me.Nevermind the high costs of your properties, the high cost of buying a local car or even the high inflation of buying imported goods, the people's health and well being is more important.********************* Have a nice Xmas all.********
Patrick Pace
Dec 12th 2008, 18:34
Finanzi fis-sod (jew sauce) u serhan ir-ras, that's what they told us, now let's see whom the Nationalist Party will blame or find a good excuse to escape from it.
lgalea
Dec 12th 2008, 18:24
Shades of 1996 when the PN government left a debt of around 10 million Malta Liri to be paid by the Labour Government.
The same happened now because Gonzipn never dreamt that he will be returned to power, so he thought that he would saddle the Labour Government to pay Gonzipn's debt.
However, things did not go as expected, as as we say in Maltese, Min xarrbu qed jieklu l-bakkaljaw.
J Grima
Dec 12th 2008, 18:14
I don't think I'll ever come to understand why most TOM commentators seem to come up with a worst case scenario, and then ask who to blame if that scenario were to happen.
Don't you realise that most economies (if not all) are in recession? Blame capitalism for it, not the government, the importers or as Mr.Camilleri ironic pointed out, LP. The concept of 'thinking outside the box' is practically non-existent.
E. Anastasi
Dec 12th 2008, 18:13
If the government wants to dismantle the universal healthcare system it should just come out and say it instead of playing the warning game.
J Farrugia
Dec 12th 2008, 18:04
stop free medicines. all the citizens of malta should be made to shoulder this financial burden. nothing is for free. not even the mlp is for free.for what we consume we have to pay. this is only natural. only socialist parties gthink that manna falls free from heaven. remember Jew b'xejn jew xejn???? Now we have to pay from our nosses. Those are the socialist parties. bankrupt ideas like the USSR.
John Saliba
Dec 12th 2008, 18:02
It is very sad how maltese are being hit badly from every unimaginable angle while government is as we say "gallerija", seeing all this happening and incapable of providing any real solution. Yes it is very sad to see the PM, who was riding the waves before the election with all the gimmick slogans, and now falling apart and being dragged down together with his government. We need solutions to these problems, I guess that the "par idejn sodi" need to be replaced, "sodi" as they were, they are now feeble and need replacing.
Mario Camilleri
Dec 12th 2008, 17:52
Who is to blame and who should be sued?? obviously il-partit laburista!! i am sure some bloggers will blame the PL for what's happening.
A. Vassallo
Dec 12th 2008, 17:36
Who is to take responsibility in case of illnesses, serious illnesses, strokes, heart attacks etc. etc. or even deaths suffered through lack of medicines on the market?
Who is to be sued in such cases, the Government or the importers?