What the Sunday papers say…

Malta Today – The current cabinet is worth some €5.3 million, with former tourism minister Karmenu Vella being the biggest climber after the sale of a property in Marsascala meant his deposits shot up from €140,000 to €665,000. Finance minister, Edward Scicluna, also saw his assets increase by €50,000. However, Energy minister Konrad Mizzi amd Gozo minister Anton Refalo suffered financial dents of €87,000 and €24,000.

Meanwhile, this newspaper’s managing editor, Saviour Balzan, reports from Beijing, China – where he spent the past week as part of the media group formally invited by Prime Minister for his visit to the Asian superpower. Balzan quotes Muscat as saying that that China “is dying to invest” with an excess of liquidity of three trillion dollars. “We are best placed to do this because of our European Union membership, our cultural link to China and our geographical position,” Muscat tells Balzan.

Sister newspaper Illum – Malta and China are engaged in discussions which could see Malta offer itself as a logistics centre for the Asian superpower. This would mean that Chinese companies will be able to make use of Malta as a commercial zone, in order to exhaust the more Northern European markets.

The Sunday Times – Prime Minister Joseph Muscat admitted that the Sai Mizzi Liang situation was “not handled well”. Mizzi, wife to Energy and Health Minister Konrad Mizzi, has been dogged by controversy ever since being appointed as the country’s ambassador to China with her salary providing the main bone of contention. Muscat has now admitted that the situation was not handled as it should have been but credited Mizzi for the success of his visit to China.

The Malta Independent on Sunday – MPs from both sides have no urgent intention of discussing the FKNK petition , with over 100,000 signatures, calling for a change in the Referenda Act “to safeguard minority right”. In fact, as things stand, MPs are under no obligation to discuss petitions presented to them  on any subject.

It-Torca – The Malta Community Chest Fund (MCCF) is at risk of having to close its doors if it does not find alternative ways of financially staying afloat. The MCCF reportedly forks out around €200,000 every month towards persons in need but these funds are slowly drying up.

Il-Mument – Internal unrest is preventing the official appointment of Ray Zammit as Police Commissioner from taking place. Last week, Peter Paul Zammit was removed from his post, but Minister Manwel Mallia has since failed to elaborate on the real reasons why.

Kullhadd – Standard & Poor’s confirmed the rating of BBB+/A-2 for Malta, in terms of its economic stability. This is yet another sign, according to the newspaper, that the Labour government’s economic vision is a sound and positive one.