It is true that the standard of living is increasing due to international circumstances, however they promised us that something was going to be done to address inflation.

The people who will be worse off will be the minorities, especially when the standard of living is impacting essentials such as food. Nine months ago, when the rate of inflation reached a peak, we were promised a separate COLA for persons with low income. This promise was not kept. The mantra of surplus was never mentioned again.

The careless waste of the people’s money, which could have been used to complete projects that were not fully completed, was not even mentioned. Massive banners were placed stretching from one building to another so that passersby will not walk in front of them and be oblivious to the project. A case in point is the project started by the Nationalist Party pertaining to housing in Msida, where year after year all that remains is the building in shell form. However, what is important is the massive banners. The money that has been wasted on these banners could have been used to build another apartment.

We boast about improvements, but the people do not feel the same way. On the contrary, the weight of inflation is being felt by the minorities, such as pensioners, and workers who cannot make ends meet. The standard of living of our population has decreased.

The belt has tightened, and this has not affected everyone in the same way. Whoever is not being affected is not speaking about the situation so that they can continue to prosper. There are those who are literally counting the days as to when they are going to receive their salary or social benefits.

We are seeing an increase in the number of homeless people. High rents are one of the challenges, because people have to vacate their homes and reside in a car, or plead with their ex partner to give them a place to live, or resort to shelters that, for the most part, are full up. Once the shelters are full up, what will the authorities do in order to tackle these situations? If a person sleeps on a bench, that is illegal. The police would investigate this and rightly so. So then, where can people who do not have the basic necessities in life turn to? Is it not obvious that social challenges will increase! The situation is alarming.

If a person has to pay a monthly rent of €750 and earns slightly more than €800, what can that person do? Do one’s daily needs not count? Can you survive today without a mobile phone? The heat in Malta is unbearable in summer, is it possible to sleep without an AC, or at least a fan? Bearing in mind this situation, are these people living in dignity? Some people are resorting to renting a garage as their residence and paying €400 a month. Is this dignity?

We speak about work life balance. In order for a single parent to meet the demands of life, that person has to work for 14 hours a week selling shoes, after a day of work. Is this a good quality of life? One must not forget that the parent has to raise and take care of children as well.

People who rent can never plan their lives. How can one plan, when the amount of rent increases every few months? We’ve never lived in a state where one had to worry about how they are going to survive in order to carry on with their lives!

At the moment there are two phenomena. There has been a dramatic increase in price on the most basic items. People with low income (even those whose salary is above the minimum wage) are encountering problems as they cannot make ends meet. Inequality in our society is ever increasing. The disparity between the lower and higher sectors is even more evident. Wherever there is inequality, there is no just society. These inequalities cannot be addressed once huge amounts of government resources are being used on useless spending and are wasted unnecessarily.

I’ll conclude by quoting from an NAO report, in which a survey about what has been done in Malta to decrease poverty was presented. In this survey, academics and NGOs noticed that the increase was not equivalent to the changes in daily living and standard of living. They said, as well, that there was an increase in polarization (preferences) where distribution was concerned. It is worth mentioning that before the election, 979 government workers were employed. History keeps repeating itself.

Social problems are becoming more complex. There is an increase in poverty among vulnerable persons and there are more people who are homeless or living in sub-standard conditions. In this report , which was conducted in 2020, it was clear that the measures that were taken by the government only worked in the short-term.

The needs of vulnerable persons are not being given much consideration, such as children who are in residential homes, children coming from a low socio-economic level, the elderly, single parents, irregular immigrants, people with mental health problems, victims of domestic violence, those with a criminal record and even persons whose marriage has dissolved.

The Nationalist Party states that there cannot be careless and unnecessary spending of the people’s money. Bureaucracy has to be minimized, waiting lists are to be reduced, stigma has to be eliminated and information has to be shared so that no one lags behind.

Ivan Bartolo is a PN MP and the party’s spokesperson for social housing.