The Hon. Edward Scicluna, Minister of Finance
Hon. Minister,
The Government has declared that the public funding of political parties is not on the agenda for now. It is saying that this public funding will be on the agenda at a later stage when this law would have come into force and started to bear fruit.
Of course, this does not reflect the truth.
For the past 20 years, since 1994, the Government has been allocating in the budget an annual state funding amounting to 200,000 euros for the two parties in parliament, for international and Mediterranean activities. Basically, the PN and PL have obtained two million euros each in terms of state funding when this public funding is not supposed to be taking place for the time being.
Now that the law about state financing and registration of political parties will soon be approved by parliament, we expect that in next Monday’s budget, this budget line will be amended to reflect the proposal made by Alternattiva Demokratika that the allocated funds are distributed in an equitable manner among the political parties which contested the last general elections in 2013 and which obtained more than 1.5% of valid votes.
The absence of such an amendment, would mean that PL and PN will continue to take state financing only for themselves, excluding all other regularly registered political parties, while the Government will continue to declare that there is no public financing of political parties.
Best regards,
Arnold Cassola
Chairperson, Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party
…
On. Edward Scicluna, Ministru tal- Finanzi
On. Ministru,
Il-Gvern iddikjara li l-finanzjament pubbliku tal-partiti politiċi mhux fuq l-aġenda għalissa. Qed jgħid li dan il-finanzjament pubbliku jkun fuq l-aġenda iktar tard meta tkun bdiet titħaddem din il-liġi u tkun bdiet tagħti l-frott.
Naturalment, dan mhux minnu.
Sa minn 20 sena ilu, mill-1994, sal-lum, il-Gvern ilu jalloka fil-baġit finanzjament statali ta’ 200,000 ewro fis-sena għaż-żewġ partiti fil-parlament, għall-hidma internazzjonali u fil-Mediterran b’mod li s’issa l-PN u l-PL ħadu żewg miljun ewro kull wieħed bhala finanzjament mill-istat, meta suppost dan il-finanzjament pubbliku għadu ma jeżistix.
Issa li ser tgħaddi l-liġi dwar il-finanzjament u r-reġistrazzjoni tal-partiti politiċi, qegħdin nistennew u nippretendu li dan il-budget line fil-baġit ta’ nhar it-Tnejn, jinbidel u tiġi addottata l-proposta li għamlet Alternattiva Demokratika li l-fondi allokati jinqasmu b’mod ekwu bejn il-partiti li kkontestaw l-elezzjoni ġenerali tal-2013 u kisbu iktar minn 1.5% tal-voti validi.
Fin-nuqqas ta’ din il-bidla, ikun ifisser li L-PL U l-PN ser jibqgħu jagħtu finanzjament statali lilhom infushom biss, ad eskluzjoni ta’ kull partit politiku iehor regolarment irreġistrat, waqt li l-Gvern jibqa’ jgħid li m’hemmx finanzjament pubbliku.
Inselli ghalik,
Arnold Cassola
Chairperson, Alternattiva Demokratika – The Green Party
