Today the British Irish Council met for the 17th Annual gathering in Dublin today, not that you would know it from the Welsh press or the Welsh Government.
The Guardian had a live blog from the meeting and full details are here
No surprises that it was the ongoing clashes between the UK Government and Alex Salmond over independence that dominated the pre and post summit headlines, but Carwyn Jones apparently told the press conference after the meeting that if Scotland left the UK then a Convention would be needed to stop England dominating Wales and Northern Ireland.
However it’s his pre summit statement that shows his lack of leadership on economic matters yet again he wanted to focus on Youth unemployment, a worthy topic but his statement is more politicking than policy.
“There is no escaping that the economy and youth unemployment are common challenges for all the nations of these islands and this meeting gives us an opportunity to share our experiences of addressing these issues.
“My government sees tackling youth unemployment as one of our major priorities. The levels of unemployment we are seeing amongst young people in Wales are totally unacceptable. That is why we have created employment programmes to support young people to gain valuable work experience; we are increasing the number of Apprentices and investing in skills.
“As part of the global economy Wales is not immune to the turmoil we currently see. The troubles of the Eurozone, combined with the policy direction taken by the UK Government are hitting job creation. The number of people unemployed continues to grow, the jobs we need for our young people are simply not there.
We are not seeing the private sector producing the level of jobs needed to fill the gap created by job losses in the public sector resulting from the UK Government’s decisions on fiscal policy.
“Whitehall’s approach to the European Union is also a concern – I do not want to see the UK isolated when it comes to the economic future of Europe. Being a strong, engaged member of the European Union is vital for Welsh jobs and the continued attraction of investment. '
The Scottish First Minister in contrast was thinking bigger on the economy in its pre summit statement said "Before Christmas, I called for a UK jobs summit led by the finance ministers of the four UK administrations to agree a programme of immediate employment creation. However, this call has not been acted upon.
We will therefore raise with the Deputy Prime Minister at the British-Irish Council the issue of employment and economic growth
"Despite severe cuts from Westminster, we still have higher employment in Scotland compared to the UK. The UK Government needs to embrace a Plan Mac-B approach, based on the Scottish experience of increased public investment to create more jobs and growth, otherwise we will be left trying to mitigate against their flawed economic policy.
"Scotland has also seen a series of positive jobs announcements from major companies in recent months, but more needs to be done, particularly to tackle the scourge of youth unemployment. This is precisely why I appointed the first dedicated Minister for Youth Employment in the UK last month.
"A lot of excellent work has already been done and we are committed to creating 25,000 modern apprenticeship opportunities this year and in each year of this parliament.'
More from RTE News on the Irish perspective of the meeting here here
Friday, January 13, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
‘Full investigation’ by Welsh Government into All Wales Ethnic Minority Association'
From the Western Mail today
First Minister Carwyn Jones told AMs yesterday a full investigation was under way by the Welsh Government into Wales’ foremost charity representing ethnic minorities.
Last week the Western Mail revealed that Naz Malik, the chief executive of the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (Awema), had been disciplined after admitting using more than £9,000 of the charity’s money to pay off a credit card debt. He said he regarded the money as an advance on his expenses.
An inquiry by an independent investigator suggested Awema was an organisation mired in nepotism, with Mr Malik’s daughter and daughter-in-law also working for it in senior roles, and his wife and son as volunteers.
The Swansea-based body has been awarded £8.4m of public money under the European aid programme for Wales to run projects aimed at improving the employment prospects of people from ethnic minority communities.
Yesterday Plaid Cymru AM Rhodri Glyn Thomas said to Mr Jones during First Minister’s Questions: “I trust you’ve had an opportunity to read the report which has resulted from the inquiry into the management of that organisation. Normally I wouldn’t ask you to comment on such organisations or the individuals involved in them, but in this case, this particular association does manage £8.4m of Euro
projects.
“Can you tell us this afternoon First Minister, do you still have confidence in the ability of the association to manage these projects and specifically its chief executive, Naz Malik?”
Mr Jones said: “The allegations are serious, a full investigation is taking place and we will comment once that investigation has concluded.”
There is still nothing from BBC Wales or ITV Wales on this matter.
UPDATE
Here’s the brief exchanges on Nas Malik in the Senedd from the Record of Proceedings at yesterdays at FMQ’s, the First Minister could hardly disagree or object to an investigation without looking shifty, but his answer to the question is weak and the need to contain and bury the story seems to be uppermost in Labour minds as opposed to doing what right and getting answers to this whole sorry mess.
Rhodri Glyn Thomas: You will be aware that concerns have been raised and, indeed, serious allegations made about the management of the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association. I trust that you have had an opportunity to read the report, which has resulted from the inquiry into the management of that organisation. Normally, I would not ask you to comment on such organisations, or individuals involved in them, but, in this case, this particular association manages £8.4 million in European projects. Can you tell us this afternoon, First Minister, whether you still have confidence in the ability of the association to manage those projects, and specifically, in its chief executive, Naz Malik?
The First Minister: The allegations are serious. A full investigation is taking place and we will comment once that investigation is concluded.
The full record of yesterday FMQ's is here
First Minister Carwyn Jones told AMs yesterday a full investigation was under way by the Welsh Government into Wales’ foremost charity representing ethnic minorities.
Last week the Western Mail revealed that Naz Malik, the chief executive of the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association (Awema), had been disciplined after admitting using more than £9,000 of the charity’s money to pay off a credit card debt. He said he regarded the money as an advance on his expenses.
An inquiry by an independent investigator suggested Awema was an organisation mired in nepotism, with Mr Malik’s daughter and daughter-in-law also working for it in senior roles, and his wife and son as volunteers.
The Swansea-based body has been awarded £8.4m of public money under the European aid programme for Wales to run projects aimed at improving the employment prospects of people from ethnic minority communities.
Yesterday Plaid Cymru AM Rhodri Glyn Thomas said to Mr Jones during First Minister’s Questions: “I trust you’ve had an opportunity to read the report which has resulted from the inquiry into the management of that organisation. Normally I wouldn’t ask you to comment on such organisations or the individuals involved in them, but in this case, this particular association does manage £8.4m of Euro
projects.
“Can you tell us this afternoon First Minister, do you still have confidence in the ability of the association to manage these projects and specifically its chief executive, Naz Malik?”
Mr Jones said: “The allegations are serious, a full investigation is taking place and we will comment once that investigation has concluded.”
There is still nothing from BBC Wales or ITV Wales on this matter.
UPDATE
Here’s the brief exchanges on Nas Malik in the Senedd from the Record of Proceedings at yesterdays at FMQ’s, the First Minister could hardly disagree or object to an investigation without looking shifty, but his answer to the question is weak and the need to contain and bury the story seems to be uppermost in Labour minds as opposed to doing what right and getting answers to this whole sorry mess.
Rhodri Glyn Thomas: You will be aware that concerns have been raised and, indeed, serious allegations made about the management of the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association. I trust that you have had an opportunity to read the report, which has resulted from the inquiry into the management of that organisation. Normally, I would not ask you to comment on such organisations, or individuals involved in them, but, in this case, this particular association manages £8.4 million in European projects. Can you tell us this afternoon, First Minister, whether you still have confidence in the ability of the association to manage those projects, and specifically, in its chief executive, Naz Malik?
The First Minister: The allegations are serious. A full investigation is taking place and we will comment once that investigation is concluded.
The full record of yesterday FMQ's is here
Monday, January 9, 2012
AWEMA Boss under fire and difficult questions for Labour
I spend a lot of time criticizing the ever dwindling Welsh press, but they can occasionally make a useful contribution to public life by exposing the rampant cronyism, nepotism and fraud that exists in Wales and so often goes unchecked and unreported unlike the Walesonline report which highlights some serious financial irregularities at the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association by its Chief Executive Nas Malik among other things.
The article states he used public money to pay off his credit card, he paid a life insurance policy in his wife’s name and employing his daughter and other family members and paid them substantial salaries.
The article goes on to say Nas Malik has been accused of bullying, intimidation and sexual harassment and increasing his own salary and benefit package without any openness or transparency and more in an internal AWEMA report which concluded with legal advice there was enough evidence of financial foul play to pass the details to South Wales police’s economic crime Unit.
Lib Dems AM Peter Black has apparently asked the Welsh Auditor General to look into the financial irregularities and let’s hope the Opposition doesn’t let Labour off the hook on this and allow them to sweep this under the carpet as usual.
As for Carwyn and his Government what have they got to say on this matter and more importantly what are they gonna do about this seen as Mr Malik is a Labour Party member and is also damaging the reputation of Welsh charities and third sector organizations who are actually doing vital work in these recessionary times.
There’s more from Valleys Mam and Jac o North
The article states he used public money to pay off his credit card, he paid a life insurance policy in his wife’s name and employing his daughter and other family members and paid them substantial salaries.
The article goes on to say Nas Malik has been accused of bullying, intimidation and sexual harassment and increasing his own salary and benefit package without any openness or transparency and more in an internal AWEMA report which concluded with legal advice there was enough evidence of financial foul play to pass the details to South Wales police’s economic crime Unit.
Lib Dems AM Peter Black has apparently asked the Welsh Auditor General to look into the financial irregularities and let’s hope the Opposition doesn’t let Labour off the hook on this and allow them to sweep this under the carpet as usual.
As for Carwyn and his Government what have they got to say on this matter and more importantly what are they gonna do about this seen as Mr Malik is a Labour Party member and is also damaging the reputation of Welsh charities and third sector organizations who are actually doing vital work in these recessionary times.
There’s more from Valleys Mam and Jac o North
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