Debono's motion

Nicholas Azzopardi death in Police HQ fall - Government amnesty for information
The government will grant an amnesty and protection to any person who has information of alleged abuses leading to the death of Nicholas Azzopardi and is prepared to give evidence under oath in court, the Prime Minister announced in Parliament this evening. Father-of-two Nicholas Azzopardi died in hospital in April 2008, hours after claiming that, while under arrest, he was beaten up by two policemen who then threw him from a window at the back of police headquarters. Two magisterial inquiries did not reveal any abuse by policemen. The subject was raised in parliament by Labour MP Evarist Bartolo. He asked how many people had, in the past 10 years 'fallen' (his inverted commas) from the window and down the wall known as tal-klandestini, a height of three storeys. He also asked how many of these people were foreigners, how many died or were injured and how many were unhurt. He also asked what investigations were made. Dr Gonzi replied that 13 persons were involved in incidents described by Mr Bartolo of whom 12 were foreigners.  Four were hurt and one died after several days in hospital. A police investigation was made in all cases.(timesofmalta.com)


Debono presents motion for halt and review of St Philip's Hospital acquisition process
Nationalist MP Franco Debono has presented a motion in Parliament calling for the process for the acquisition of St Philip's Hospital by the government to be halted until the whole acquisition process in examined by the Auditor-General or the Public Accounts Committee. In his motion Dr Debono complains that the House was not informed about the acquisition of the hospital, which will involve an outlay of €12 million over a number of years. This acquisition, he points out, was happening just four years after the government opened Mater Dei Hospital. The process, so close to a general election, was raising certain doubts which needed to be addressed. The motion says that the fact that the Health Ministry was long subject to strong criticism for its mismanagement and lack of vision further underlined the need for parliamentary scrutiny.(timesofmalta.com)