New Youth Forum Starts Paid, Confidential Work Advising Robert Abela
A new national youth forum tasked with giving Robert Abela advice held its first meeting with the Prime Minister at Castille yesterday.
The nine youths have been tasked with giving Abela feedback on national issues over the next 18 months and will meet the Prime Minister at least once a month.
They have each been given an honorarium equivalent to 5% of Government salary scale 5, which means around €2,250 each over the next 18 months.
Minutes, conclusions and observations are to be considered as confidential Cabinet documents unless the Prime Minister decides otherwise.
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One of the youth forum members, 22-year-old Michaela Vassallo, was nominated by the National Youth Council, while the other eight were chosen following a public call.
These are Francesco Giuseppe Giorgino, 16, Amy-Jo Mifsud, 25, Aleandra Muscat, 24, Neil Muscat, 26, Omar Rababah, 32, Bernice Sant, 33, Thomas Sciberras Herrera, 20, and Ġorġ Vella, 23.
While the forum members will agree on the agenda prior to meeting Abela, they can consult with anyone they want to beforehand. However, their actual discussions with the Prime Minister and the advice they give him will remain strictly confidential.
In a statement, the OPM said that Abela told the forum he wants to ensure Malta is a place where youths can fulfil their aspirations.
“Youths want to have good jobs, to live in a beautiful, clean and safe country, and to enjoy quality time with their families. They also want to live in a peaceful country, region and world,” the Prime Minister remarked.
He also referred to a number of government projects, such as the investment in the Nadur primary school, a call to modernise a number of electricity sub-stations, and the increase in pensions and carers’ grants.
He also noted how Wasteserv recently registered a substantial decline in black bag waste and a rise in organic waste collection and how Malta managed to relocate more irregular migrants than it welcomed last year.
The statement said that forum members pushed forward a number of themes themselves but didn’t specify what they were.
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