As we pass the first anniversary since the first Corona Virus case was detected in Malta, it is opportune to have a look at how we performed as a country during the last year, a year like no other. Undoubtedly, there are lessons to be learnt.

Stiglitz, the well-known economist, states that when crises of this magnitude, (such as Covid-19) hits, the determining and crucial factors to minimise the damage and retain resilience, is to bounce back once again.  He argues that unless there is Government’s intervention that is fast and bold through stimulus packages, the economy would take a downward turn which will take a long time to reverse. 

Nevertheless, the first priority is undoubtedly that of keeping people healthy and saving lives. Unless we got this right, we would have been unable to restore the economy. To this aim, Government launched a series of stimulus packages soon after the pandemic hit, each designed to keep people healthy and in jobs.

Testing and tracing centres were opened, partial lockdowns introduced, and front-liners stocked with resources to provide the most effective health and social service possible. To their credit, the health system was able to manage the increased stress of the demand of Covid-19, while the social services responded in a timely manner in order to ensure that no one is left without the basics to live decently.

The wage supplement alone amounted to €150 million, while support was also extended to the self-employed and small businesses. All the other social benefits continued to be offered equitably and for free, while in some situations these were even accentuated.

Moreover, despite everything, Government continued with its public sector spending, whilst also filling the investment gap created by the initial shock of the pandemic. Nevertheless, investors took the use from Government and private investment flowed, even if not at the same rate as before. We were hurting, but not beaten.

The overall effect was that the employment rate remained high and the unemployment rate low, new ways of working were introduced which allowed families to balance their family and working life, especially during the weeks when schools were closed. The health and social services delivered on their commitments, especially for the elderly and the disabled and in the community including personalized assistance. In addition, the repayment of house loans were put on a moratorium, while rent subsidy increased to avoid evictions.

No situation was overlooked, and no group left without support, irrespective of how insignificant the situation, or how small the group was. We were in this crisis together and we will emerge from it in solidarity together.

True enough, our welfare system was tested to its core, but it was not found wanting.

Stiglitz states that the protection of the vulnerable is easier in countries with a good system of social protection.  This was surely true in our case.

No wonder that while everyone was apprehensive about the crisis, people still felt secured. People’s lives were disrupted, but they knew that the situation was under control. Government was following the science, adhering to medical advice, and deciding in the best interest of all concerned. With the benefit of hindsight, one can true enough, identify areas for improvement, however, no one doubts that Malta faired admirably well during the crisis, as the EU reports and statistics continue to show.

It is here important to underline the importance of the welfare state and how this system, which all Governments invested in over the years, withstood the test of time and a Global crisis. We should never forget this lesson. We are all familiar with the realities in economically advanced countries, of increased unemployment and many evicted from their homes. As Stiglitz states, it is the Government’s public policy of equitable re-distribution of the country’s wealth, that secures the welfare of the people and not the GDP on its own.

Our past investment in social rights and social benefits gave this country the necessary resilience to protect and to keep its people secure, even in the face of unprecedented calamity of a global pandemic.

Let us not forget, that the values of social justice and solidarity, are the backbone of this Nation and they need to remain embedded in the collective consciousness of our people. Irrespective of the circumstance this culture was and needs to be the way we do things in this country for the future.

It is of our strong social justice system, which shapes the things to come.

Michael Falzon is the Minister for Social Justice and Solidarity, the Family, and Children’s Rights