Following accusations made by former Kunsill Nazzjonali Zghazagh (KNZ) International Officer, Tyler Cassar, today, the Control Commission, composed of Paul Caruana Turner, Brendan Zerafa and Angela Micallef, made a unanimous decision regarding the mentioned accusations public.
1. Calls from the KNZ Office — Despite that the President, Andrew Micallef, did not deny making a private phone call to a certain Elizabeth Pulo, there is little that could be done about it. The best option is said to be that from now onwards members do not use KNZ phone to make private calls and that a call log is kept, which will provide better transparency.
2. Attacks on Michael Piccinino — It is clear that more than actual attacks on Michael Piccinino, it was a case of a lack of sensitivity, particularly in respect of Piccinino’s situation.
3. The President’s words in the email — Any words which will make others feel inferior will only serve to harm another’s self-esteem, as stated by the Commission, and create a tense situation within the executive. Clearly, the statute treats all executive members equally, irrelevant of whether they have experience or not. While the role of International Officer makes it clear that it is within his responsibility to assume charge of international issues, the President is authorized to know what is taking place in every field. Thus, this concern should have never taken place.
4. The Government — Regarding this point, Tyler Cassar’s point is not very clear. The Statute gives the government the authority to choose two representatives. If Cassar does not approve of this system, he has the right to open discussions with the concerned Ministry.
5. Politics — It is indeed a pity when in intern correspondence, one finds terms like "laburist’ and "he’s a PN candidate’. Members should not refer to each other with political labeling and respect should be shown towards each other, as suggested by the Commission.
6. Elections — None of the executive members is under the control of another member, irrelevant what took place in the elections of the same executive. Any members who claim that a member should prefer other members because of what happened in the election is not fit for the job.
7. Brussels — It is a situation of one person’s word against another and thus it is difficult to say what happened.
8. AIESEC — Although there doesn’t seem to be a case of someone who disobeyed the statute, things still could have been done better and with more good intentions, which would have avoided this main problem. Moreover, it is evident that hostility was already taking place, which resulted to this uncomfortable situation.
9. The Minutes — Although the President’s words weren’t aimed to prevent turmoil, they didn’t go against the statute, thus technically, there is little that can be done, although practically there could be appeal for the minutes to be kept objective.
Tyler Cassar’s Reaction on Facebook
Today, the Maltese National Youth Council’s board of control has ruled that there was no “defined” abuse of resources whilst stating that there were short comings from both sides in the accusations I had put forward.
Whilst I disagree with the final verdict, I will accept it without appealing the decision though I will not take back what I posted publicly as that remains my belief. I hope that the current executive committee remembers the short comings that have been pointed out and try to fix them in order to ensure a more successful future.
I believe that KNZ should push to remove the two government appointees from having voting rights in as little time as possible to ensure that it is not any government’s voice that is being repeated but the message, the member organizations want to pass.
KNZ must stop from refraining to contradict or differ from the government’s position of certain issues, in fear of losing out on the current agreements held between them as this shows that it can never truly represent the youth.
Second before last, I would like to thank the members of the board of control, Paul, Brendan and Angelo for the time taken on the report I had done and hope that they do not receive further reports that show what is happening inside that keeps KNZ back.
Finally, I would like to thank the internationals I met throughout my work within KNZ and wish them a good term with many projects.