Benefit fraud: The innocent should not suffer the wrongdoing of others - PM
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said today that the government would continue to attack benefit fraud but its guiding principle was that the innocent should not suffer from the wrongdoing of others.
Speaking at a PN interview activity in Tarxien, Dr Gonzi said actions needed to be preceded by proper study and discussion.
"A single mother means, first and foremost, the mother of a child. Before shooting left, right and centre the first question to be asked is: what will happen to the baby? It is only when that question is answered that one can tackle abuse, including unknown fathers," Dr Gonzi said.
Turning to the reform of primary health care, Dr Gonzi said Malta had a ‘treasure' in its network of family doctors who visited their patients at home. This was an asset which the country needed to build upon by giving such doctors the tools to work better. In so doing, he said, the Malta health service would enjoy a leap of quality in the interests of patients and the community in general.
Turning to the reform of public transport, Dr Gonzi said Malta was required by EU law to offer the bus service for tender, and this tender would be issued shortly. He was confident, he said, that this reform would yield a high quality service to residents and visitors, adding that the governemnt would not forget the current operators, who also had families.
SOCIAL PACT
Dr Gonzi said Malta was weathering the current economic storm better than many other countries, but the storm had not passed yet. Malta, he insisted, needed to become a more competitive investment destination. The social partners should, therefore, take another shot at reaching a social pact, building on the work done five years ago.
He said he, however, expected a genuine commitment from the GWU and the PL to put the country before partisan interests. PL leader Joseph Muscat had spoken of the need for a new political season. This, he said, applied to the GWU and the PL in the interests of national competitiveness and productivity.
He asked why some quarters were ignoring the current increase in the price of oil - currently at the same level as last year. The government, he said, should not respond to this situation alone, but together with all the social partners.
The new social pact, Dr Gonzi said, should put jobs first. Malta needed to be in a position to attract more job-creating investment.
Questioned about the PL decision to hold a demonstration, Dr Gonzi said everyone was free to hold a public demonstration without fear, which was not the case up to some time ago. He did not think, however, that the demonstration would help overcome Malta's problems. Nor would it help bring everyone together to pull at the same rope, which was what Malta needed.
He hoped that in the coming days there would be a constructive talks in the MCESD in the run-up to the Budget in everyone's interest.
The focus of the Budget would be on job creation. Malta had invested heavily in its students and now needed to create the jobs so that it could benefit from this investment. The government also wanted to encourage more women to work. The constant demand of potential investors was for human resources, Dr Gonzi said.
EDUCATION
Dr Gonzi in his address reiterated his commitment to retain students' stipends and to continue to encourage students to study beyond secondary schools. Indeed, the growth rate in this sector was faster than anywhere else in Europe, thanks to the stipends, investment in the University, Mcast, the Junior College and many other institutes, as well as the granting of scholarships.
Dr Gonzi said he was sceptical of the PL policy on stipends in view of comments made by, among others, Edward Scicluna, Evarist Bartolo and, two days ago, Alfred Sant.
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Muscat. Pat
Oct 26th 2009, 08:06
Tonio Fenech castigates single mothers, Gonzi turns the page and makes a volta faccia! Is this an other case where the government is showing that it has no sense of direction?
m zammit
Oct 26th 2009, 07:25
Dr Gonzi nobody is speaking against social benefits it is the abuse that we all speak about and regarding the single mothers the child is not to blame but the mother should be made to maintain and share her own responsability as well because in schools sexual education is taught and so all should be responsable for their own doings .The only differrence between a single mother who stays at home and a married housewive is both have children to tend to and most live with a partner as well but a single mother gets all the benefits as she is not married and a married housewife gets none . A LL of us have to be responsable so stop this abuse the taxes we pay should be used for those really in need
Michael Neville Cassar
Oct 26th 2009, 06:50
Dear Prime Minister get the father and mother to worry about their baby and do not use my tax to pay for their enjoyment. Some of the so called single mothers have got it well for years, forcing housewife women to work is helping breaking the family apart, and the social harmony at home. So do not encourage singles to destroy our families and our society.
G. Spiteri
Oct 25th 2009, 19:02
I have a brilliant idea to tackle single mothers. Why doesn't the government invest in baby care centres. Single mothers are then asked to work to earn their living. Then it will be easier on the state as lots of money will be saved. Maybe thinking about fostering more seriously can solve the problem as well.
J S Borg
Oct 25th 2009, 18:11
@J cachia. But dear aren't nappies, baby food etc etc sold by chemists and pharmacists? This is the situation with students' smart cards, some so called bookshops, sell cosmetics, and other stuff. Please note that some students need to buy, sport equipment and attires, have to attend beauty shops for their training. You name a course of whatever and you can get a so called purchase for a study.
P.Cassar
Oct 25th 2009, 17:54
BUT, DEAR PRIME MINISTER Wasn't it your dear Tonio who put all single mothers IN ONE BASKET and shot at them?
JOSEPHINE CACHIA
Oct 25th 2009, 17:09
I have an idea,do not stop benefits.Give single mothers like smart cards vouchers which can exchange for child food ,nappies, and medicines.So our tax money is not used for mother clothes ,hairdresser and nail arts.
J S Borg
Oct 25th 2009, 16:35
Work is a disease. All my family are workoholics. What do we get, in my case after paying hefty NI contributions eversince I was 14 as well as contributing to another pension scheme; a bit of NI pension and another bit of the other. in my opinion this is legalised robbery. While those who do not are not registered workers and benficiaries are receiving legalised squandering of public money.
michael Degiorgio
Oct 25th 2009, 16:11
I AM ALL FOR THAT A SINGLE MOTHER GETS BENEFITS IF SHE MADE ONE MISTAKE BUT TO MAKE TWO OR THREE MISTAKES AND SHE CARRIES ON GETTING BENEFITS IT JUST NOT ON WHAT ABOUT US WHO PAY TAXES AND NATIONAL INSURANCES STAMPS AND WE FIND OURSLEVES SICK OR OUT OF WORK WE GO THROUGH HELL TO GET BENEFIT AND THEN YOU GOT THE SINGLE MUM HAVING THE RIGHT TO CLAIM BENEFITS
Edward Camilleri
Oct 25th 2009, 15:07
Who are the innocents in the single mother case? the citizens are the innocents, not the single mother or child. True there may be cases of rape, but are all single mothers victims of rape OR a plan to get the allowances despite staying with their partner?
C.ZARB
Oct 25th 2009, 13:59
The current system acts as an incentive for single mothers to abuse the system while indirectly (through taxes) punishing families/single mothers that want to do right thing by working. Instead of giving monthly cheques to single mothers whose children have 'unknown fathers', it would wiser to heavily subsidize child care centers so both families and single mothers can leave their children in a healthy place and WORK. Single mothers with no skill should be first trained and then re-integrated in society. It wouldn't be a bad idea to force single mothers who don't work (and take pay cheques) to do some voluntary work. Many understaffed NGOs would relish by such thing.
By doing so we would be given that child the biggest lesson of his entire life ie adults have to shoulder their own responsibility.
Marcel Dingli
Oct 25th 2009, 12:57
Gonzi, the people have the RIGHT to know of politicians wrong doings and the DUTY to kick them out. The absolute majority has regected you in the last general election and confirmed the decision strongly in the MEP s election.
Charles Sammut
Oct 25th 2009, 12:53
@ Charles Micallef
Tax avoidance is perfectly legal, in fact more and more people should practice this. It will encourage those who have been entrusted with spending our tax euros to do so wisely and not fritter them away or use them indirectly for their election campaigns.
Tax evasion is illegal.
Charles Sammut
Oct 25th 2009, 12:38
"A single mother means, first and foremost, the mother of a child. Before shooting left, right and centre the first question to be asked is: what will happen to the baby? It is only when that question is answered that one can tackle abuse, including unknown fathers," Dr Gonzi said.
This is exactly the sort of attitude that is destroying society.
"What will happen to the baby?" is not a question for society at large, it is the question that the irresponsible mother and 'unknown' father should have asked themselves before engaging in unprotected sex. This has become a society of rights but not duties and responsibilities. As more and more people opt to exercise their constitutional right to act irresponsibly, the whole system will degenerate into anarchy.
Yesterday I came upon a children's colouring book published by the Commissioner for Children. It lists the whole gamut of children's rights but not a single duty. It also refers to www.tfal.org.mt which has been "Under Construction" for months. Who cares?
Charles Micallef
Oct 25th 2009, 12:20
Stealing from.................
Benefit Office,
Vat Office,
Tax Avoidance by the chosen few...
it is all stealing!