"Nothing adds more wealth to the nation, than the return on investment in educating our children." -  Bob C. Riley, American educator

Notwithstanding the global threat of the pandemic, we have now presented Labour’s second budget. Our health authorities have kept Covid-19 under control. After twenty long months of the pandemic, budgets all over the world are still reckoning with loss of income to their national coffers and are contending with the highest ever expenditures for national health, employment, social and educational reasons.

A first scenario 

This is the very first reality one needs to consider as a background to the hard work put in formulating Malta's budget for 2022.  It was a real challenge to our new Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, and indeed to all of us his colleagues, to analyse current costings and plan with workable estimates for the coming year, despite the uncertainties  brought about by - and still present – of the pandemic itself.

We have made sure that the annual budget is much more than a fiscal exercise. We have planned and presented an economic document that directs the country’s economic pathway through a long list of measures and incentives, reaching out to all sectors of society. All social partners judged it as a courageous budget, albeit the Opposition. They played solo with their customary negative criticism, shooting from the hip with no sensible alternatives. 

A second backdrop

A second perspective which no one can deny is the steady growth of our national wealth over the past eight years. It is the reason we took bold financial measures even during the worst of the pandemic and despite the unkown quantity the virus when it first reached our shores in March 2021.  None of the many costly measures of multi-million proportions could have ever been contemplated, let alone implemented, were it not for the visionary Labour administrations since 2013.  The entire nation knows very well now, what our motto of 'prosperity with a purpose' really meant!

Labour's budget for 2022 is to be evaluated within the current recovery period and the delicate world economic scenario on which national economies depend.  Uncertainties are still part of the equation and our Finance Minister, when planning the budget, had to seek the right balance between stability, sustainability, investment and the social wellbeing of our families.

A third perspective

We must also recognise a third scenario in which we focused not only responsibly on the harsh consequences of the pandemic, but proceeded with all major projects, as promised to the nation at the 2017 election.  No other year before 2020  has seen so many mega-projects realised within the stipulated time and estimated costings.

On top of all that, we have safeguarded the welfare state, introducing additional support to various cohorts who had long awaited the help they deserved. We have secured a good standard of living, proceeded with the most resilient approach in the education system and upgraded benefits to the most vulnerable, without introducing any new taxes for the fifth year running.

A fourth, sad reality

There is a fourth aspect one must unfortunately consider. Throughout the pandemic we had to face the endless destructive criticism and subversive tactics of an Opposition that has been lacking true values and lost its focus, except for obstructing all kinds of progress at all costs.  This has caused nationwide rejection to a component of our democracy which should fulfill responsibly its constitutional duties according to the expected praxis and with a tangible love for the country.   

I will not delve into this sad reality, nor into what has become an endemic fragmentation within their very own ranks. This in itself is a threat to constitutional stability.  Maltese and Gozitan families have far more important issues to resolve, particularly their own and the nation's plans for national income and expenditure for next year and beyond.

A healthy education

All four realities form the complete scenario in which we have to assess the budget for 2022.  The nation is aware and appreciates the hard work put by Prime Minister Robert Abela in leading our compact team of ministers and parliamentary group. With  head held high and determination, we have faced the harshest challenge our national economy has ever encountered. The current economic situation required courage and vision, and .Labour's budget for next year is evidently well-equipped on both counts.

We have treaded bravely through a hard time in every portfolio assigned to us, including the education sector which I proudly lead, fully aware that it is the key to the country's generational advancement.  The budget's motto itself - 'the country we want for our children' - reflects the rationale at the very core of every measure taken. Everything is carefully planned and costed. 'Our children' are intimately linked to the education sector.  They will benefit from a much higher portion of public funding in the year 2022.

Our children, our focus

The last scholastic year was an eye opener for all of us - students, educators and parents. We have learned to integrate, collaborate and adapt to alternative teaching methods which are new and innovative and not part of the known and tested schooling.  Our resilience has shown itself in its best form, more so now that we have invested heavily to ensure safety in our schools.  The Ministry's investment is an ongoing process, including the millions applied for upkeeping and upgrading our schools and embellishing their environment and facilities around Malta and Gozo.

Indeed, the Labour Government's budget for the coming year is brimming with diligently tailored measures meant to secure our children's safety and academic progress.  We have incentivised all levels of schooling - from childcare to tertiary education.  Our resolve is to ensure the best quality in teaching and guiding our children and lead them to enjoy the Malta and Gozo they deserve. We have the resources in place and we now need to move ahead together, keeping our focus solely on our most precious asset - our children!

Elections

A final note: free and fair elections are indispensable for our democracy.  They serve a clear purpose but are not the purpose, as some people think.  They are a means to an end, namely translating the preople's decision into motion and committed action. It appears, however, that some have not accepted that decision since 2013.

The recent spat of gossip about the forthcoming election proves the stark difference that distinguishes Government's respect to the rule of law and the chronic approach of those who habitually alarm people towards destabilising the economic and social wellbeing of the nation. The Prime Minister's clear-cut stateent puts them in the right perspective for all to see and judge.

Dr Justyne Caruana is Minister for Education