Home help contractor deficiencies

I applied for government home help and qualified. A government officer came and efficiently explained all details, very precisely and politely. Then, the bad news that all her helpers were busy, so I would be provided a helper by the private contractor and I would be contacted by their supervisor.

I waited for nearly three weeks and then decided to call and find out whether there was some problem.

And a problem there was in the name of “Salome, the “supervisor”. She was very sharp and concise and kept saying it was too early to expect a service, for no apparent reason, also asking when I first applied. I kept asking for a valid reason. Then, amid some pauses, she just cut off.

I rang up again and “Salome” never came back.

Too early, when I was cleared by the government on May 18 and they were informed on May 19? Apparently, this contractor lacks the suitable resources and has been awarded a monopoly so it can treat us poor oldies like nobodies as this first encounter has proved.

For goodness’ sake, don’t leave us at the mercy of such contractors.

Joseph Gulia – Paola

Who robbed the Maltese?

When a leader of a political party knows very well that he can never make it to prime minister, he or she is in a position to promise everything to everybody, knowing that he/she will never be accused of having failed to deliver promises made.

This is precisely the position Bernard Grech is in. So he has already started to promise whatever he thinks may help him narrow the great trust rating gap which exists between him and the prime minister.

His latest promise, based on just a report in a newspaper, which had quoted from a leaked “draft” NAO report - which the Auditor General said is still to be completed - saying that a considerable number of water and electricity bills the NAO had examined,were found to have been overcharged.

Grech pounced on this and almost immediately promised that a PN government under his leadership would refund the money “stolen by the PL government”.

What Grech failed to say is that the system used by ARMS Ltd in the compilation of W&E bills is the same one which was introduced in 2009 by Lawrence Gonzi’s PN government. Which means that if the Labour government has been “robbing” consumers since 2013, those same consumers had already been “robbed” by the Nationalist government since 2009.

But what I find extremely rich is that this accusation is coming from the leader of a party which, when it was in power had “robbed” thousands of members of the police force from overtime pay and it had to be the Labour government to give them the money owed to them.

It had “robbed” thousands of car owners who were illegally charged VAT when they bought their car between 2004 and 2008. And it had to be the PL government led by Joseph Muscat who refunded the money stolen from them.

Had “robbed” the Maltese people of Mid-Med Bank and gave it to HSBC for peanuts!

Had “robbed” Maltacom, the airport and public lotto from the Maltese people and handed them to foreign companies.

Had “robbed” all employees of all the public holidays which fell on weekends. And, again, the Labour government gave those holidays back to all Maltese employees.

But what caps it all is that the same Grech had no qualms of conscience when he “robbed” the Maltese people for 12 long years when he dodged paying his income tax and VAT bills.

Eddy Privitera – Mosta

Dangerous pavement

During the last winter storm, heavy rainfall damaged the tarmac and the pavement in Valletta Road, Luqa.

The large hole in the road has been filled with rough concrete (!), while the pavement’s bricks were pulled out by the heavy downpour and carried away downhill.

This presents a hazard for those who need to use this pavement.

I thought that, after all these months, the damage would have been seen to.

Alas, this was not to be, hence my letter.

One could do worse than to see that the ever-growing tree branches are trimmed since they also pose a danger to passers-by.

Francis Sammut – Luqa

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