State should subsidise utility bills for pensioners and vulnerable people - Arnold Cassola

Government should subsidise water, electricity, mobile and internet bills for pensioners and vulnerable people, independent candidate Arnold Cassola said on Wednesday.

During a visit to the Valletta soup kitchen on Wednesday, Cassola remarked that the number of people at risk of poverty in Malta is on the rise. The gap between those who struggle to make ends meet and those getting richer is always increasing.

"In a time of mounting materialism and of increasing cost of living, it is heartening to witness the altruistic work by the Franciscan Fathers  who, apart from offering a hot plate daily to these needy people, are also contributing to restoring dignity to these human beings."

Cassola added that the COVID-19 pandemic, Ukrainian war, and the consequent economic slump is affecting everyone, "even those that are supposed to be middle-class families".

"It is imperative that the state establishes a decent minimum basic wage to which every person resident in Malta should have a right to. A caring society has to take care of the most fragile in society."

Fr Marcellino Micallef, who runs the soup kitchen, explained to Cassola that many of those who come to the kitchen are mothers, elderly people, low-income groups, people suffering from mental illness, men who feel insecure in their lives, and couples or families going through marital and financial crises.

Cassola thanked Father Marcellino for the initiative.