During a press conference held at the party’s premises in Sliema, the chairperson of Alternattiva Demokratika, Dr Harry Vassallo, expressed his party’s disappointment at the recently revealed statistics on the number of persons being “boarded out” from employment for reasons of disability, both physical and mental.
Dr Vassallo said: “In Parliament a couple of weeks ago it was declared that during 2004, a total of 1,200 persons were retired from the work force due to disability.
“What was more revealing was the confirmation that, as previously estimated by Alternattiva Demokratika, approximately 9,000 persons were officially boarded-out – in actual fact the figure is 8,844. These figures are shocking and simply unbelievable. It is obvious the government is still intent on continuing a policy of retiring people from the workforce on dubious grounds. It is simply not believable that 9,000 people are unable to work due to disability. We are sensitive to the fact that a significant number of people are genuinely entitled to this welfare benefit, however it is evident that the system is clearly being abused with dire consequences for the whole economy and to the clear detriment of government’s finances.
“There is reason to believe that major abuse is being allowed to happen in Gozo where the practice has become rampant.
“The tragic side to this situation is that those who are genuinely entitled to disability benefit and do not work in the black market, are only being afforded a maximum pension allowance of Lm191 per month. If the abuse is curtailed, the benefit can increase to enable genuine cases to enjoy an adequate standard of living. Unfortunately, our absence from Parliament does not allow us to ask the questions that will reveal the real extent of this abuse, which has become systematic and quasi-institutionalised.”
The party spokesperson on Finance, Economic Affairs and Tourism Edward Fenech added that “apart from the damaging effects ensuing from the culture of political patronage, the systematic abuse of this welfare measure is having very serious consequences particularly on the economic front.
“It is shocking to note that there are more persons boarded-out in the economy than people who are unemployed. The annual cost of providing these benefits is approximately Lm15-20 million per annum. How much of these benefits are being paid to people who are not genuinely entitled to such benefit? How many of these 9,000 people are abusing the system and working in the black economy where they don’t even pay any taxes and national insurance contributions? If government does not take action to stop the abuse, then it is understandable that many Maltese are losing confidence in our country’s future, as effectively government has created an unemployed army of the privileged. How are individuals expected to strive when they know that a significant number of people are being given a pension to which they are not entitled? Further, by boarding-out people government is effectively disguising the real figure of unemployment in Malta, which is higher that what is published.”
Dr Vassallo insisted that “this situation is scandalous. The Labour opposition does not criticise this situation because of electoral reasons. In the meantime the country is laden with millions of lira in benefits that should not be paid. On the other hand the government wants to reform significant aspects of our welfare state, meaning that the people who are genuinely entitled to benefits could be denied what is socially due to them. Social justice cannot be achieved without proper monitoring of our welfare system. What use is it dismantling PBS in order to save a few hundred thousand lira a year when millions are leaking from this abuse? We call on the government to control this practice so that abusers are denied any further benefits, while those who are genuinely entitled to welfare have their benefits improved. We also appeal to the opposition to take a mature and non-partisan stand on this issue. Those of us in this country who work for a living, and pay their taxes, be they Blues, Reds or Greens, demand it.
“A reform in the country’s electoral system is now, perhaps more than ever, needed because the Green Party has shown, time and time again, that only it has the political courage to deal with a host of issues that both government and opposition refuse to deal with due to selfish and short-sighted electoral reasons. If the Prime Minister genuinely wants to do the right thing for his country then we challenge him to put an end to these abuses now,” concluded Dr Vassallo.