Reduced fuel prices and first pension rise in 25 years as from today – PM
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that as of today, the Maltese will benefit from a fuel tax reduction and that the first rise in pensions would be noted in 25 years.
President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca held her New Year greetings, where she met the Prime Minister, the Archbishop, the judiciary, members of Cabinet and MPs as well as others.
The Prime Minister stressed that government will continue to work in order for families to have less expenses. He spoke of Malta’s economic success in 2015, and mentioned the latest statistical release which shows that Malta’s unemployment rate is at its lowest in many years.
He turned his focus to Gozo, and said that a 7% increase in employment was registered.
2015 registered a marginal decrease in those at risk of poverty, he said, adding that poverty is unacceptable.
For her part, the President mentioned poverty faced by children and by the elderly. She spoke of education and mentioned the struggles faced by early school leavers, stating the need to address their social and emotional problems.
Reiterating her call for politicians to earn citizens’ trust, she urged a strengthening of good governance. “We must have an ever evolving and strengthening of democracy”.
She brought up the issue again during the meeting with Speaker Anglu Farrugia and MPs, mentioning that if trust in politicians isn’t regained, “we will lose good people, who will choose not to serve the public in the future”.
On this point, she recommended the setting up of an academy in Parliament for future politicians, to learn about politics and ethics. She also mentioned possible discussions with the University to establish a degree in political science.
For his part, Speaker Anglu Farrugia mentioned the substantial workload in Parliament, and said that there are still 17 bills still pending in the second reading stage.
He also highlighted incidents in Parliament, and said that politicians must learn from recent incidents. “People judge us when we do not act in a dignified manner”.
Opposition leader Simon Busuttil praised the President for her work over the past year, and described her as a President for all the Maltese and Gozitan people.
He spoke about Constitutional reforms, and mentioned that he believes the President to be the ideal person to lead this process.
The President thanked the Opposition leader for their recent proposal regarding good governance. “The Opposition’s function must be both positive and constructive,” she said.
During her meeting with the Archbishop, she thanked him for work conducted by the Church in the social services sector.
The Archbishop in turn thanked the President for her support and generosity in assisting NGOs, including Catholic ones. He welcomed the call for Church NGOs to register as voluntary organisations.
The President greeted the Judiciary and spoke of the importance regarding giving a voice to children, particularly in cases surrounding the family court.
“I recently visited a school, when a girl asked me, on behalf of her friend, why children don’t have a voice.”
There are court decisions, she said, that leave children like nomads, four days with one parent and three with another.
Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri said that to his knowledge, the children are always heard when they are involved, but perhaps this would not be widely known considering that children are normally heard behind closed doors in order to protect their identity.
Turning to recent statistics, he said that an improvement in case times was noted, however said that work still needs to be done. He said that the Judiciary had limited resources, however recently there has been an increase.