Morning Briefing
DBRS confirms Malta ‘A’ rating
Credit agency DBRS Morningstar has confirmed Malta’s A (high) rating with a stable outlook. It attributed this position to Malta’s membership in the euro zone, as well as a moderate level of public debt in the country, the strong external position of the country and the healthy position of Maltese families. It noted Malta’s removal from the FATF grey list within a short period of time and the relatively quick economic recovery from the impact of the pandemic. Although it noted that the impact of war in Ukraine was a modest one, it still expected the economic momentum to slow down this year. (TVM)
Ministry to investigate Union boss on alleged overtime abuse
The Health Ministry will investigate the head of the nurses union after Labour ‘commentator’ Manwel Cuschieri, alleged that Paul Pace had declared to have worked overtime while on holiday last February. Cuschieri claimed that Pace listed several hours of overtime at his workplace in Mount Carmel Hospital when he was, in fact, on holiday in Egypt. Although Pace categorically denied the allegations, the ministry said it will investigate. (Times of Malta)
Greens say public officials should be held accountable for public funds
ADPD Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said that public officials too, and not only politicians should be held accountable for use of public funds. Taking inspiration from the recent revelations relating to the ITS consultancy contract given to MP Rosianne Cutaja, Cacopardo warned on Saturday that information that remains hidden leads to bad governance as he called for transparency and accountability to be upheld “without fail”. The outgoing Greens chair added that “lack of transparency threatens democracy itself”. (Maltatoday)
