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local
news
No report on pensions issue two years
on
By
Nadine Brincat
DESPITE PUBLIC statements from senior government ministers, the
Pensions (Welfare) Commission, has still not finalised the report
to be presented to the government. The long-awaited report is said
to have stalled due to technicalities.
The government set up the National Commission on Welfare Reform
in June 1999, in recognition of the need to review the welfare system.
It is recognised that unless the reforms are made, Malta will face
a major crisis in its social welfare system.
This year Lm12 million will be spent on care for the elderly and
Lm191 million on social security benefits.
Another Lm0.5 million will go towards housing and another half a
million for family and social welfare.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Social Policy told Malta Today
that the government is pressuring the Commission to finalise the
report.
"We want the report to be ready as soon as possible, however,
we want a report which is done well," he said. "The Ministry
has regular updating meetings with Anthony Galdes, the Commission’s
Chairman, so that we know what is going on and are aware of the
current stages of development."
In his Budget speech, last November, Finance Minister John Dalli
expressed his disappointment that the report had not been concluded
so far.
Minister for Social Policy, Lawrence Gonzi, also expressed regret
over the Commission’s tardiness in completing its report by
the end of 2000.
When contacted, late last year by The Business Times, our sister
publication, Mr Galdes, the Chairman of the Commission, said that
if it depended solely on him, the report would have been completed
by the end of last year.
"However, there is a technical team of professional officers
in the public sector who have to giver their input and they have
other work to do first," he said.
"The projections over time which are being carried out require
much work, particularly regarding simulations of possible reform
scenarios. Social security reform is, after all, very complex."
The Commission, which is composed of a representative of different
Ministries concerned with the issue and a number of interested parties,
was due to present a report of its findings to the government by
October 1999.
The commission was set up by the Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami
on the 21 June 1999 to examine the social security system in Malta
and its sustainability and to make its recommendations on possible
reform especially with regard to pensions.
The commission has sought advice from the World Bank, which has
been involved in various pension reforms worldwide. A technical
panel has been established in collaboration with a World Bank expert,
to help the Commission establish the most favourable models to adopt.
The Commission’s interim report included various considerations
and guidelines to be analysed for recommendations and changes for
the Maltese social welfare system. |
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