The Prime Minister’s speech on Tuesday was a sharp contrast to that delivered by the Opposition Leader, in turn replying to the Minister for Finance’s Budget speech. Dr Joseph Muscat’s strong and focused delivery reflected the Government’s long term vision for our country, but also reflected that behind the Prime Minister there is a united team, working together for the better of this country.
During his speech Prime Minister Muscat explained this government’s vision for Malta. A meticulously planned vision which started in 2013, started to be implemented and now we are reaping the fruit of the successes which it brought along.
As Prime Minister Muscat said, Malta is a top performer and classified as the second most stable country in terms of the economy in the whole world. For the fifth year running, we will see a budgetary surplus and the Government’s debt will be sliced down by 40% in 2020.
I think that one of the Prime Minister’s best quips when replying to the Leader of the Opposition’s speech was when he agreed that this is a recycled budget, however a budget that is recycling all the former budgets’ positive measures. If you have a good thing going, why change it? Better it and strengthen it.
This is a budget that concentrates, but not only, on the most vulnerable people’s needs. However, with the backdrop of a strong and growing economy, the budget also caters for other priorities in this Government’s vision.
Justice and Culture are amongst them. As I highlighted last week, culture features in various ways in this budget. It continues to credit this sector’s importance, not only by sustaining the financial vote for the sector, but also by building on past measures to take this sector to the next level. Projects and the implementation of measures will also feature in the justice sector.
As an ending note on this subject, I concur with the Prime Minister’s statement during his speech when he said that he has full faith in the Attorney General in the same way that he has full faith in the judiciary, irrespective of how it pronounces sentences … and explained that this government lost two seats because of a court decision and the Government did not lament it, but the decision was respected.
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On Tuesday I opened the Active Dialogue on Cultural Heritage for the Future Europe conference, organised and held by the Ħal Safi Local Council. This conference is the 5th one in relation to the project, and forms part of the Europe for Citizens’ Programme.
During my opening speech I highlighted this government’s work to further strengthen our cultural heritage. Whilst outlining numerous initiatives in relation to the matter, I stated that through our work, we are striving to create and maintain initiatives of high-quality which continue to contribute to our country’s cultural sector in the way that they are available to our society. We are also working to further enhance our local cultural product, as we steadily are becoming an all-round cultural destination which captures the eye of many visitors.
There are numerous ongoing restoration projects, and with the Local Council Restoration work scheme, now in its 5th year, we are seeing to the restoration of various chapels, niches and significant monuments. Through carefully planned strategies, we have successfully executed quite a large number of restoration projects throughout several localities, restoring these unique monuments to their former glory.
I also, with pride, mentioned the Heritage Malta Passport Scheme for students and senior citizens, and said that through this successful initiative, people are becoming more appreciative and aware of their heritage, whilst also encouraging our young ones to visit and learn about our history and culture.
The other conferences were organised in Sicily, Spain, Germany and Hungary with the active participation of 15 municipalities and European organisations to engage in creating more awareness on cultural heritage.
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Through the various initiatives taken by the Ministry and its entities working in the cultural field, we are recording an ever increasing participation to the events organised. This encourages us to continue working on other initiatives to boost one of our main priorities, that of making culture accessible to all.
Last Sunday, around 4,000 visitors accepted Heritage Malta’s invitation to visit the Tarxien Temples free of charge during an event which included the launch of a new guide book about this site.
The Open Day offered not only a financial accessibility – the site being available free of charge - but also a physical accessibility in the form of a walkway allowing visitors to explore the site more easily. Accessibility takes many forms.
The new guide book launched will serve as an interesting guide for the site of the Tarxien Temples. These are published regularly by the Agency and form part of a strategy of interpretation and dissemination of information.
These guide books were already available, but Heritage Malta is in the process of revising them in order to have a more user-friendly and attractive style as it is expected by today’s visitors. The new guide book also reflects the new research about these megalithic structures.
Another event will happen on Monday the 4th November for all students who have acquired their Heritage Malta Passport Visa, who are invited to attend to an exclusive tour of the archaeological site of San Pawl Milqi in Burmarrad.
This visa is given to students once they collect ten different stamps in their passport during visits to ten different Heritage Malta sites and museums. Two adults may accompany each student for this special occasion.
This event offers a unique opportunity to the students and the accompanying adults to visit this remarkable site which currently is open only by appointment.
Apart from a visit to this site, those interested can also participate in an activity related to bee-keeping and honey making techniques.
Event is free of charge and is open only to Heritage Malta Passport Visa holders. However, tickets have to be booked and are available on a first-come-first-served basis from all Heritage Malta sites and museums. No tickets will be available on site and admission is subject to presenting pre-issued tickets, together with the Heritage Malta Passport and Visa.
Our work in this field is a never-ending process. We are continuously updating, renovating and regenerating to give a fantastic experience to all those, be it local or foreign, who love this country’s rich historical and cultural heritage, and make our sites more accessible to all.