When I became a mother, I started to look at my own parents with new eyes. I began to understand and appreciate better how hard they had worked to give me a solid upbringing, which shaped my aspirations and enabled me to reach my goals.
It made me realise that we advance in life because of the groundwork prepared by those before us. I believe one really develops a level of maturity when the concept of establishing a positive legacy becomes embedded in one’s consciousness.
This year marks 100 years since our first parliament sitting and, in just three years, the Republic of Malta will be 50 years old. We have achieved so much during this time: we built a prosperous sovereign nation with a strong welfare system, free public health and education and a dynamic economy. We have managed to overcome big challenges by standing united, as one people.
As we slowly emerge from the pandemic, we need to maintain this national unity and joint purpose. Our Malta will face more challenges – primary among them climate change – that will put the way of life that we are accustomed to very much at risk. Globalisation and technological change will put pressure on parts of our population that are less able to adjust.
This is why Malta needs Budget 2022. This is a budget that does not look at the needs of next year but at those for coming decades and future generations. We need to prepare and equip our people so that we can turn the digital transformation into an opportunity, address the need to change individual behaviours to minimise the environmental impact of our way of life and ensure that one and all can have equal opportunities, reach their aspirations and achieve a better quality of life.
Through Budget 2022, first-time buyers who opt for properties in orban conservation areas or those who choose a property that has been vacant or has traditional Maltese features will be spared the stamp duty and given a grant of up to €30,000. Moreover, they can get a VAT refund of works they carry out up to €54,000. The goal of this incentive is to utilise the existing availability of housing or to build dwellings that conform more to the aesthetic of our country.
To lessen the impact on families in the shift to less-polluting vehicles, the scrappage scheme and the incentives offered now can amount up to €12,000, or nearly half the cost of a new electric or hybrid vehicle. No registration tax is imposed on these vehicles and there will be no road tax for the first five years.
The goal of Budget 2022 is to leave no one behind and establish solid groundwork to build a better future for our children
Although education needs a new impetus, we must make sure that access is given to everyone. It is immensely encouraging that heads of school will be given a €10,000 grant to cover costs to ensure all the children under their supervision are not deprived of basic or essential resources.
Regrettably, any gap that emerges during school years will continue to persist or get worse throughout adulthood.
Therefore, this investment will address inequality at an early stage, empower children and their families and support the government’s effort to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of our citizens.
Moreover, as the new digital workplaces are changing the way people work, it is imperative that childcare services are extended to cover the needs of those who work atypical hours and that these persons will start to qualify for the in-work benefit.
The goal of Budget 2022 is to leave no one behind and establish solid groundwork to build a better future for our children.
In order to deliver this, however, the budget also addresses past injustices, including the issues faced by thousands of women who did not accrue a pension because they did not work but stayed home to care for their family, the difficulty of thousands of parents of children with different abilities who, for years, were given little or no assistance and the predicament of thousands of part-timers with multiple jobs, mostly women, who end up with reduced pensions.
Furthermore, the budget aims to address the issues of hundreds of students, mostly from low-income households, who need to work to support themselves throughout university and who were previously denied a stipend. It addresses the plight of hundreds of women who end up on social assistance as they separate late in their life and the hundreds of persons who, because of their medical conditions, were denied mortgages as no firm would issue a life insurance in their name.
Budget 2022 marks a first step in the right direction to widen our nation’s concept of prosperity.
There are several initiatives to create greener spaces and parks, to embed social justice more firmly in our economic system and to boost the resources dedicated to mental health.
Finally, it includes another cause that is close to my heart and that of so many others: the well-being of animals. A national strategy will be launched and options for a new rehoming centre for the adoption of animals, including strays, will be studied.
After what we have gone through, we can aspire anew. As a nation, we have truly matured and can look beyond the here and now. Our new aspirations will benefit not just us but all those who will come after us.
Let us build a better Malta for our children, together.
Lydia Abela, lawyer and wife of the prime minister