The way ahead

Politics and how to do politics in a fair and stimulating manner are the basis of a paradigm shift occurring in Malta, without fanfare or hullabaloo, as we go past the halfway mark of the current legislature. Once again, Labour is showing the way.

The Prime Minister’s Sunday morning activities have undergone a refreshing transformation, intended to create a veritable platform of discussion rather than scoring or resurrecting old political points.

Instead of a Prime Minister pontificating to a convinced audience, these Sunday appointments offer a mixed panel of speakers, many of them apolitical experts on the issues under discussion and ready to share their experiences and goodwill. So much has already been talked about, and so much more is in the offing.

It is a unique exchange of professional views that, treated with absolute liberty and impartiality, makes politics all the more sensible and credible. Unbiased participants and politicians with a genuine desire to streamline their strategies while seeking innovation is the picture that is strongly emerging on Sunday mornings. It takes true grit for a politician to stand aside and let the experts discuss what’s best in their given fields of specialisation. This is a process of socio-political harmonisation that is already bearing fruit and giving Maltese politics the breather it deserves from old-style methods of reaching out to the people. It creates an atmosphere of unbridled discussion aimed at explaining what lies ahead, how to achieve new goals, and bring about the changes to make things happen, rather than just showcase what has already been achieved.

Tomorrow’s budget for 2025 marks another milestone in 21st Century Malta. It is yet another window from which the country can assess, with facts and figures, what has been achieved and how to keep up the tempo through new initiatives and more positive measures. Prime Minister Robert Abela has already made it amply clear next year’s budget is designed according to the country’s new realities, based on the success of consecutive economic advances achieved in recent years. He also said that a lot has yet to be done as more ambitious government plans unfold to help move the country economically even more forward.

The budget also offers time for a review of what has been achieved in this fast-ageing year as we look ahead to the new one. In the inclusivity and voluntary sectors, over the past two and a half years, 84% of what was promised in the 2022 electoral manifesto has already been implemented. In concrete terms, this has inevitably and happily led to a better quality of life for persons with disabilities and the creation of new opportunities in both sectors.

Persons with disabilities have smoothly transitioned into the labour market and with a newly found sense of self belief they have successfully secured a solid source of daily independent living. Families and carers have witnessed this wonderful transformation of loved ones rightly establishing themselves in an evolving and much more equal Maltese society. They do so in the knowledge that there is more to come, a process that has also been established within the voluntary sector.

Among several other ongoing projects, a new respite centre under construction in the south of the island (electoral pledge 687), will offer better accessibility to families in the region as the two other respite centres in Mtarfa and Mosta already do.

The €1.4 million project at Ħal Kirkop, undertaken by Agenzija Sapport, will also include facilities and essential and specialised services for persons with disabilities and their families. Independent living and the right to inclusivity, in conformity with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, underscore the objectives of this project, which is expected to be completed by the middle of next year.

We are committed to addressing even more challenges in the disability and voluntary sectors, both of which have already seen extraordinary investments, changes and improvements during recent years. The reality of our work is that there is never a point of conclusion. Society evolves and our targets and pledges evolve with it, as we remain steadfast in our belief in individual freedom and equality.