Your news update in the morning, presented by Michael Kaden
NEWZ06:00 on 3 September 2024
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Post at a cost
MaltaPost has announced a substantial increase in its postal tariffs from Monday 9th of September.
Sending a letter of up to 50 grams to a local address will cost 45 cents – that’s an increase of nearly 20%.
The cost of sending a 50g registered letter within Malta will increase to €3.40. A simple post-card to any address abroad €1.50.
MaltaPost cited rising operational cost and global market pressures among other challenges such as declining postal volumes.
The company claimed that – due to its service obligation – many of its postal services have been operating at a loss. It has now introduced an automatic tariff adjustment mechanism.
Sharing, not caring
A Swiss firm that paid Joseph Muscat as a ‘consultant’ had a secret deal to receive 30% of Steward’s dividends from its hospitals deal.
E-mails obtained by OCCRP and shared with Times of Malta indicate the payments via Swiss Accutor Consulting were intended for Pakistani businessman Shaukat Ali.
Ali previously held a hidden interest in Vitals Global Healthcare and faces charges of forming a criminal organisation with Joseph Muscat, Accutor owner Wasay Bhatti.
A magisterial inquiry into the deal which led prosecutors to file charges against Muscat and dozens of others only mentions this secret plan in passing.
It granted Swiss-based Accutor participation rights in Steward Gobal Healthcare’s Maltese operations – essentially a 30% share of profits through dividends and earnings.
Accutor-owner Bhatti put Joseph Muscat on a €15,000-per-month consultancy nine months after the secret profit-sharing agreement was signed.
Muscat received four payments totalling €60,000, two of which came from Accutor Consulting.
Emails indicate that the “substantial debts” Steward Malta faced meant no dividends were paid out prior to a court’s termination of the hospitals contract in 2023.
Steward Malta did however pay over €7 million to Accutor between 2018 and 2020 for “political consultants”, “jet expenses”, “lobbying” and “payroll services”.
Adrian Delia, the PN’s spokesperson for health, said the latest developments further confirmed fraud in the granting of the hospitals concession.
Delia said they showed secret manoeuvres to rob the people of Malta and Gozo, undermining their health.
Royal visit
“Malta will mark 60 years of independence with a royal visit from its former colonial master”, MaltaToday commented the news:
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will visit Malta from the 7th to the 10th October.
This has been announced by the Maltese government and the British High Commission in Malta.
On 21 September, Malta celebrates the 60th anniversary of independence from Britain.
Weather
Today there’s a fair chance of isolated showers. Temperatures up to 31°C.
