Happy birthday, SDM!

The Christian Democratic Students Association (SDM) has just celebrated their 30th anniversary with great enthusiasm. The National Youth Council (KNZ) has joined many in offering their congratulations and best wishes recognising the hard work that SDM has carried out throughout these years at a university and at a national level.

Although a student organisation, SDM has managed to actively participate in the main events that have characterised the last 30 years in Malta extending its clear support with solid arguments in favour of Malta joining the European Union.

It is no secret that SDM supports the Nationalist Party and in turn the Nationalist Party cuddles SDM. So far so good. However it is very important that SDM continues to work even harder when the Nationalist Party is in government. The students need SDM as much as when there is a Nationalist government and perhaps even more than when there is a Labour government.

The country needs SDM to offer its views such as those on the economy, on the rationale of having a student stipend when the country's economic position does not afford it, on the warden issues, regarding the functioning of MEPA and so forth. But it is exactly this point that SDM might not be realising - namely that the Nationalist Party needs SDM now more than ever before.

What can SDM do at this crucial juncture? SDM can lobby for the needs for the University with the government. More importantly, SDM can see to it that only those who really need a stipend are given one. This will help the government find the finance required for the survival of the university.

In addition SDM can suggest a way to introduce some form of a fee system with grants to deserving cases, which would discourage the flooding of our University with European students coming to Malta because it is one of the few places where no tuition fee is charged.

On a national level SDM can help to train tomorrow's politicians. One good way is by providing a kitchen cabinet with each student member monitoring a minister and providing their own suggested budget and policies.

Finally SDM could serve as a contact between the Prime Minister and society and act as a catalyst to develop new ideas for the Nationalist Party to adopt.

Definitely SDM must be more active. It must certainly put forward young, enterprising, fresh, energetic new ideas to approach the present problems. Ideas are needed urgently how to make the warden system more acceptable to society, how to make MEPA efficient not only in collecting money and in making a one off show down of some entrepreneur but also in issuing permits which are simple and should be tackled in a matter of hours and not months.

New ideas are needed for ways to eradicate illiteracy and to keep Malta clean and tidy. SDM can help to boost tourism, especially cultural tourism. There are hundreds of ways how SDM can support students and the country while still supporting the Nationalist Party.

For its past work SDM deserves congratulations from all. Ad multos annos, SDM.